Last month’s Vision Expo East was a whirlwind of networking, education, and investigating new technology, and enjoying the company of friends in eyecare from around the globe! But one of our biggest passions has always been the eyewear, so we sat down with optician Drew Dias to talk the biggest trends in optical for 2018.

Dias has been in optical for the past 15 years and currently works in office management in addition to founding the D.C. Optician Network. With a background in music, the story-telling and individual style of eyewear drew him in to the industry and he’s never looked back.  He uses Vision Expo East to not only get his educational hours, but to find the most interesting and innovative new eyewear brands to bring back to his patients.

For 2018, Dias sees independent frame lines continuing to take off as opticals focus on branding and storytelling within their office. If you are shopping for new independent lines to add to your optical, he recommends:

* Etnia Barcelona rules color

* Iyoko Inyake’ for interesting color and shapes in metals

* Parasite is Diaz’s personal style secret. Think sideshields, visors, and statement pieces.

Eyewear style for the season is extremely diverse, with no one big trend ruling the runways. Dias’s favorite trend of the moment are the clear, translucent, and champagne color frames that are majorly trending this season. In metals, gold continued to be a favorite as they create a perfect pairing with on-trend clear frames.  Late 80’s and early 90’s fashion dominated the throwback references.

As a bonus in this week’s podcast: Darryl and I break down Eyecare Business‘ top fashion trends from 2018 runways for men and women, as presented in their Vision Expo East fashion show. We’re talking logos, plaids, and men wearing short shorts and what that means for eyewear fashion this year!