Independent eyewear, in conversation with India

The Next Frame Is India

Born from conversations with international eyewear brands at MIDO Milano 2026, the India Eyewear Access Forum will bring selected independent collections to New Delhi in January 2027, connecting original design with India’s optical trade through collection presentations and focused business dialogue.

NEW DELHI - At MIDO Milano 2026, international eyewear brands approached Mr. Moosi Kazmi, Founder and Strategic Lead of Pro-Kit 5 and Associate Editor of Optician India, to discuss their interest in the Indian market. The conversations moved from collections and design to practical questions: understanding regional retail markets, reaching the right optical businesses and evaluating a distribution partner’s coverage before discussing exclusivity.

India’s optical market spans major metropolitan centres and distinct regional retail networks, each with its own relationships and buying behaviour. For an independent brand, serving scattered accounts in different cities does not necessarily create a coherent market presence. Product, positioning and geography need to be considered together.

Those exchanges led Mr. Kazmi to conceive a forum that would bring selected international eyewear brands together in India. Three days after MIDO, the outline of the idea began to take shape.

Mr. Kazmi discussed the concept with Mr. Madhur Gupta, Editor of Optician India, in Milano and developed it with Mr. Gupta’s support over the months that followed. The result became the India Eyewear Access Forum - IEAF.

Presented by Optician India × Pro-Kit 5, the Forum will take place from 9-11 January 2027 in Hall 1 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, within International OpticsFAIR India. It will provide a dedicated setting for independent international brands to present selected collections to Indian optical retailers, buyers and distributors.

Collections will be presented with the story of the brand and its approach to design, colour, materials and frame construction. Product information and conversations with the optical trade will give visitors a view of both the creative character of the frames and their place within a retail assortment.

For Indian retailers and buyers, IEAF offers a focused opportunity to examine distinctive collections, understand the thinking behind them and discuss their suitability for different retail settings. It brings independent international design into direct conversation with the people who select and present eyewear across the country.

For participating brands, the purpose is to make the next commercial conversation more informed. Responses to individual frames can help assess interest, explore retail placement and identify potential distribution relationships. A collection may find stronger relevance among particular retailers, cities or networks; those reactions provide a basis for considering where to concentrate further effort.

Optician India brings its editorial experience and relationships within the Indian optical industry. Pro-Kit 5 is responsible for international brand liaison, collection coordination and the execution of the Forum, alongside follow-up with relevant retailers and distributors.

What began in Milano as a conversation about entering India will take physical form in New Delhi in January. IEAF’s larger ambition is to give international eyewear a clearer view of the market it wants to enter, while giving the Indian trade the opportunity to encounter the collections and the ideas behind them.

Press enquiries: press@pro-kit5.in

Forum information: https://pro-kit5.in/ieaf