Dsquared2 Sign Eyewear License with Marcolin
By Godfrey Deeny
Fashion Wire Daily - London - Italian based though Canadian designed label Dsquared2 has signed its debut eyewear license with Marcolin, one of the key Italian sunglass and spectacle manufacturers. The deal is a global licensing agreement for the production and distribution of sunglasses and prescription frames under the Dsquared2 brand name. The 5-year licensing agreement, with a 5-year renewal option, is projected to generate a turnover of 20 million euros, or $31 million, according to a joint press release from both parties. Dsquared2 designers Dean and Dan Caten will launch their sunglasses in the first half of 2009 and will follow these with prescription frames soon after. Marcolin and the Catens are planning a selective and focused distribution in high-end eyewear boutiques and department stores worldwide, as well as Dsquared2 own retail points. Dean and Dan hailed Marcolin as creatively, "the most innovative group on the market, able to distinctly diversify the brands of their portfolio and devote all the efforts necessary to support a project as important as this. We are extremely happy that Marcolin decided to invest in our brand for its notoriety and also for its tremendous potential." Added Maurizio Marcolin, Style & Licensing Officer of Marcolin Group: "I'm very satisfied for (the) opportunity to launch a brand such as Dsquared2 in the eyewear industry. Dean and Dan Catens' great potential and stylistic talent, combined with the high market appreciation for this brand, will ensure an extreme success over the years." Dsquared2 first launched a men's collection in 1994, before debuting a female collection on the runways of Milan in 2003, both lines fusing the Caten brothers smart mix of American mythology and edgy Italian tailoring. Besides a 2002 master licence with Diesel's Staff International to produce and distribute the label's collection worldwide, Dsquared2 counts an agreement with Galizio Torres for the production and distribution of the men's and women's footwear. The twins also boast a licensing agreement with ICR for fragrances and cosmetics. In June 2007, the first DSquared2 flagship was opened, a store in the heart of Milan's fashion district. Additional retail expansion is slated with openings following soon in Capri, Istanbul, Kiev and Moscow. Publicly quoted Marcolin is an eyewear industry with annual production of some 5.5 million eyeglass frames and sunglasses in more than 600 styles. Its licensed brand portfolio includes labels of such note as Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli, Montblanc, Ferrari, Kenneth Cole, Miss Sixty, Replay and Timberland.
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