Italia Independent will develop adidas Originals eyewear

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 3, 2015

Italia Independent will develop, produce and distribute under licence the adidas Originals eyewear line. The Italian eyewear manufacturer and the German giant announced in a press release that the term of the licence will be four years and new models created by the partnership will be presented in January 2016. The adidas Originals eyewear line was previously produced by well-known Austrian manufacturer Silhouette International.

This is a key partnership for the small niche company launched in 2007 by Lapo Elkann, Gianni Agnelli's nephew, together with Giovanni Accongiagioco and Andrea Tessitore. The company is now quoted on the Milan Stock Exchange and posted revenues for €33 million. It's the first time in fact that Italia Independent strikes a deal for a long-term licence agreement with a major international group.

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The eyewear manufacturer has until now developed a business model relying on one-off co-branding collaborations with several different brands. It's actually thanks to a partnership of this kind that the new collaboration with adidas Originals saw the light, springing from the success of the eyewear capsule collection produced by Italia Independent and inspired by the Superstar, the sport brand's iconic sneaker.