LVMH x Marcolin joint venture unveiled Thélios – a new site for the production of glasses for the LVMH luxury brands

 

Longarone, Italy, is a town renowned for its expertise in eyewear. Here, LVMH, the French multinational luxury goods conglomerate , opened a new site dedicated to the production of glasses for the Maisons belonging to the LVMH group. Less than a year after the creation of Thélios, the joint venture between the luxury group and Italian eyewear maker Marcolin, the Manifattura Thélios was inaugurated on the 24th of April in Longarone.

 

This key building for the Group was conceived of as a place of excellence for the eyewear sector. Thélios is already collaborating with the LVMH’s Maisons like Céline, Loewe and FRED. The company employs 245 people from all over the world, with 100 of them at its Manifattura. Thélios forms a complete and flexible production tool that ensures integral product monitoring, from the initial creative brief to the 3D design, prototyping and final production.

For the conception of this new building, Thélios chose the Design group Architetti Associati architect’s office, which developed this Manifattura around corten and different bay windows to offer an innovative work-space over 8,000 m². The building is also considered durable and environmentally responsible, featuring over 2,300 solar panels installed on the roof.

“Italy is a strategic country for the LVMH group. The Manifattura Thélios is proof of the high investment the Group has in favour of Italian economic heritage and its development.” said Toni Belloni, Group Managing Director of the LVMH group.

 

“With the Manifattura Thélios, we aim to anticipate the future while showcasing our long-standing expertise. This project combines our taste for top quality products with our respect for a cultural heritage essential to the region,” explained Giovanni Zoppas, Chairman and CEO of Thélios.

“Thélios is already collaborating with the Maisons Céline eyewear, Loewe and FRED, and the number of Maisons we are collaborating with is increasing. Thélios does not exist without LVMH Maisons, they are the very essence of what we do,” added Zoppas.

For Spring/Summer 2018, the LVMH-Marcolin joint venture presented its first collection for Céline Eyewear. The collection includes vintage-inspired, timeless styles revisited in new, contemporary versions with updated shapes that range from sophisticated cat eye to squared designs.