Roth, Christian

Christian Roth: Eyewear Designer

Christian Roth is an eyewear designer. Roth is the son of Dr. Fritz-Jürgen and Sabine Roth, geb. von Prittwitz und Gaffron, and remembers receiving a pair of Ray-Bans from his father at the age of 15 as the defining moment in discovering his passion for eyewear.

In 1980, he began his career in New York as an assistant to the late fashion photographer Rico Puhlmann. In 1978 he met Frenchman Eric Domege, who was then studying marketing at the Academie Commerciale Internationale (ACI) in Paris. The two met again in New York in 1983 and founded Optical Affairs in 1984. 

Christian-Roth-Eric-Domege
Christian Roth Eric Domege

Sunglasses and eyeglasses designed with partner Eric Domege

Together with his partner Eric Domege, he is the creator of sunglasses and eyeglasses with a personal and innovative line. Since 1998 they have been working with the Cxd division of Charmant USA, a subsidiary of the Japanese company of the same name, which previously represented the Christian Roth brand.

The collection, created for Michael Kors Eyewear, went on sale worldwide in 2001 after a catwalk presentation at Vision Expo East. There are 13 models: 9 sunglasses and 4 prescription glasses. There are no logos on the temples: the designer’s typical style is enough to distinguish them. The testimonial chosen for this minimalist collection dominated by titanium frames is rock singer Lenny Kravitz.

Lenny Kravitz in Christian Roth
Lenny Kravitz in Christian Roth

Awards

The designer and Domege have continued to design eyewear that has been featured on the covers of fashion publications ranging from Women’s Wear Daily to Vogue.
In 1990, him and the brand were inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was the first eyewear designer to join the CFDA.

In 1998, they partnered with the Charmant Group to produce and distribute the brands eyewear worldwide. The Japanese manufacturer has helped the designer brand expand internationally, in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The creative endeavor earned Roth the “sporty casual eyewear” category award at the Tokyo International Optical Fair in October 2002.

Christian-Roth-1

Collaborations

From 2000 to 2004, Roth and Domege collaborated with designer Michael Kors on his eyewear collections. The pair also worked with Karl Lagerfeld on his fashion eyewear line from 2007 to 2011.

The brand celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009. They released 25 limited edition monogrammed versions of their Series A style. 2010, he ended his 12-year licensing agreement with Charmant and regained control of all his brands. Later, In 2011, Christian Roth granted Korean eyewear company BCD Korea, Co. Ltd the licence to manufacture and distribute Christian Roth eyewear throughout Asia.
 

The last few years

In 2012, Christian Roth and Eric Domege founded the Optical Affairs Company and launched their e-commerce destination christian-roth.com during the New York Women’s Wear Daily Fashion Scoop February 13, 2013 Fall Winter Fashion Week.
On October 6, 2014, the Council of Fashion Designers of America created a new committee, The Eyewear Designers of the Council of Fashion Designers of America CFDA, (CFDA), which aims to raise the profile of the eyewear industry. Christian Roth serves as the group’s spokesperson.

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