Balenciaga signs eyewear licence partnership with Safilo

Balenciaga and Safilo have already collaborated on the development of the eyewear styles that featured prominently in Balenciaga's Spring-Summer 2007fashion show in Paris. The initial collection featured women's sunglasses, two of which were developed specifically for the fashion show while the third is a re -edition of a vintage pair of Balenciaga eyewear from the 1970's. This eyewear, positioned at the top end of the luxury scale, is available in Balenciaga's directlyoperatedand franchised stores in Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, Singapore and Dubai, as well as in Balenciaga's specialty retail and department store points of sale worldwide.

Vittorio Tabacchi, Chairman of Safilo Group, commented 'We are particularly pleased about the opportunity to work with such a distinguished and influential name in fashion. This agreement further consolidates the longstandingrelationship with Gucci Group, which began in 1990. Balenciaga will allow us to reach a specific and refined customer who values quality particularly highly and,for this reason, is selective '.

The licence announced today formalizes this partnership with a view to the launch of a full sunglasses range, starting in Autumn 2007, with optical frames tofollow. These collections will be distributed through Safilo's network that reaches into the most prestigious optical stores and specialty retailers worldwide, as wellas through Balenciaga's own points of sale. The licence agreement runs until the end of 2012.

Isabelle Guichot, President and CEO of Balenciaga, noted: 'We have been delighted by the quality and constructiveness of our collaboration with Safilo forSS07. This is a wonderful base from which we look forward to consolidate the partnership between our creativity, the very high quality of Safilo's products, and the clear selectivity of their distribution.'