Modular Frames, Smarter Hinges: Lessons From the SILMO d'Or 2026 Nominees
Leeyewear
SILMO 2026 opened this morning, September 25, at Paris Nord Villepinte and runs through Monday, September 28, with around 900 exhibitors, more than 1,500 brands and 42 countries on the floor. For frame people, the award that matters is the SILMO d'Or, now in its 33rd year. The winners will be announced tomorrow evening, Saturday, September 26. And this year's shortlist of 64 nominees says a lot about where frames are actually going.
The Five SILMO d'Or 2026 Nominees for Technological Innovation
Look at the five finalists in the technological-innovation-in-eyewear category:
- IKOSSEYEWEAR – Concentric Circle: A stainless steel frame built on a concentric modular structure, where temples, nose pads and decorative rings are all 100% interchangeable. The concept picked up a Red Dot Award earlier this year and is covered by an international PCT patent.
- Piero Massaro – Cerniera a Baionetta: A bayonet hinge from the Italian designer: insert, twist, connect. The temple locks on and releases without tools, and the mechanism becomes part of the frame's architecture rather than an add-on.
- FROST – Flextip: A hearing aid built directly into the temple tip, with no visible external housing. The tip fits conventional temples, adjusts in any direction to follow the ear, and is thermoformable, so its length can be heat-adjusted without damage.
- LACLARÉE – Autofocus glasses: Electro-fluidic lenses that refocus in under a second, from 30 cm to infinity, with addition adjustable from 0 to +3D. The frame weighs under 30 g, runs up to 20 hours, and comes in three shapes, three sizes and three colors.
- VUARNET – Racing 14: A one-piece cylindrical shield with the prescription integrated into the lens itself, no insert, plus a quick-change lens system for different light conditions.
Four of the five entries are about how a frame is built, worn and serviced. Only one is about the lens.
The Official Trend List Points the Same Way
It isn't just the jury. SILMO's own Trends Forum, the board that sets the season's look, lists "modular and adaptable frames" as a key direction under its Adrenaline theme this year. When the award shortlist and the official trend list point the same way, I'd sit up and take notice.
What Modular Means on a Real Production Program
On the optical side, modular starts with the hinge and the temple: temples you swap, click-in fronts, parts a store clerk can change at the counter without a screwdriver. For a buyer, the math is simple. One front with several temple colors does the work of several SKUs, and after-sales stops meaning a trip back to the workshop.
On sunglasses it plays out differently: interchangeable lenses or temples, so one frame covers several jobs, from driving to beach to sport.
In sport, modular is already how the wearer makes a frame their own. We run a sports eyewear line built exactly this way. The temples come off by hand: pick a color, click it in, and once it's on it stays put riding, running, whatever the day throws at it. The kit ships with spare lenses and extra temples in different colors.
Planning a Modular Line for Next Season?
If you're sketching a modular or interchangeable frame program for next season, send a reference photo or a spec sheet. We'll come back with straight answers on materials, structure, tooling and lead time. Curious how a modular build actually feels on the face? Just ask, and we'll send over the spec sheet and photos of this sports line.
Sources
SILMO Paris official website: SILMO d'Or 2026 nominees list, Trends Forum (Adrenaline theme), show information
Acuité (September 22, 2026): detail on the five technological-innovation finalists
Vision Monday (September 2026): the 33rd SILMO d'Or nominees announced
La Revue des Opticiens (September 14, 2026): the full 64-product shortlist