LOFT revels in its independent status.
Its annual eyewear shows were on the cutting edge when the first one opened in 2000 in New York City. Its’ industry footprint and independent street cred has only grown in the 20-plus years since.
Now two events each year, the Left Coast will play host September 23-24 as LOFT returns to San Francisco. This year’s event once again will be held at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture at Gallery 308. The venue is nestled inside The Golden City’s Marina District neighborhood which features stunning views of Golden Gate Bridge and easy access to other must-see destinations such as Fisherman’s Warf and the Palace of Fine Arts.
“We are really happy to be back in San Francisco again this September,” says Richard Mewha, founder of LOFT Eyewear Shows, in a press release. “It’s always exciting to come to such a spectacular city and to return to Fort Mason which has to be one of the best locations for an eyewear show I’ve ever been to. We can’t wait to catch up with our existing vendors and meet some new ones.”
LOFT touts itself as “the longest running and largest independent eyewear show in the Americas.” It also has positioned itself as an alternative to the large-scale Vision Expo shows. As per tradition, LOFT hosted an independent eyewear event this March in New York City, just blocks from the Javits Center where Vision Expo East was being held at the same time.
LOFT began hosting a second annual event in Las Vegas in 2013. That show moved to San Francisco in 2019 where it has remained. This year’s San Fran show is the week before Vision Expo West in Vegas.
Things get going 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 and run until 8 p.m. that night. The show continues 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 24 until it closes at 6 p.m.
(Pro tip: Go for the eyewear, but stay for the hors d’oeuvres. The catering at these events is next level!)
“We really enjoy coming to San Francisco for this event. It’s fantastic that our key partners for the show keep coming back like MYKITA, SALT Optics, JF Rey, Bevel, Blake Kuwahara, Andy Wolf, Rolf Spectacles, Bellinger, Masahiro Maruyama and Villa Eyewear.” says LOFT Marketing Director, Louis Fullagar. “We are very excited to announce that Götti Switzerland, Brett Eyewear, Kio Yamato, Silhouette, Maison Nathalie Blanc and Garrett Leight will be joining us this year, along with Max Pittion, Native Sons and Lowercase NYC.”
You can check out some photos from the 2023 LOFT Eyewear Show in New York City below.