Sportswear brand Sergio Tacchini inks eyewear licence deal with Mondottica

British eyewear group Mondottica (also the licensee for, among others, Ducati, Pepe Jeans, Sandro and Benetton) will develop and distribute worldwide, until 2023, the unisex eyeglasses and sunglasses collection by long-established Italian sportswear brand Sergio Tacchini.

Sergio Tacchini’s foray into the world of eyewear began with French manufacturer GEM Lunetterie, which became the sportswear brand’s licensee in 2017. The collaboration never got off the ground however, and no collection was ever launched. In 2017, Mondottica acquired the French manufacturer, rechristened the company GEM Optics and took over the exclusive worldwide license for Sergio Tacchini, kickstarting the collaboration again.

The first Sergio Tacchini eyewear line by Mondottica will première at Parisian eyewear show SILMO (scheduled on September 27-30 2019), while a preview will be unveiled at Mondottica's annual workshop in Barcelona. The line will be available in-store in the second half of 2019.

“Sergio Tacchini has always been an iconic sportswear label, chosen by leading athletes. Our objective is to create eyewear collections [for Sergio Tacchini] that will contribute to its success,” said Michael Jardine, founder and CEO of Mondottica.

Sergio Tacchini was founded in 1966 by the eponymous Italian tennis professional, and is enjoying a new lease of life, above all thanks to the renewed global interest in sportswear and athleisure apparel, now ubiquitous in fashion collections.

Sergio Tacchini is cleverly tapping this trend, introducing an array of new projects which give a new fashion twist to its looks, otherwise firmly rooted in sportswear. The latest examples are a collaboration with Andrea Crews, presented in June 2018 at Milanese trade show White Street Market, and another with Les Hommes, unveiled at Pitti Uomo 95 in Florence.

Sergio Tacchini is owned by Wintex Italia Srl, and generated a revenue of €50 million in 2017. The brand is present in several product categories, from childrenswear (licensed to Marbel) to apparel and footwear (UBC), fragrance (Perfume Holding), underwear and beachwear (Igam) and watches (Essa Grup).

Last October, Mondottica inked an international license deal with another long-established Italian label, United Colors of Benetton. The British group is also the licensee of fashion labels like Hackett, Le Coq Sportif, Maje, Sandro and Ted Baker (which it distributes worldwide, except for the USA), and owns the Yves Cogan, Spine and Zoobug eyewear brands.

Sportswear brand Sergio Tacchini inks eyewear licence deal with Mondottica

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