Approaching its 60th anniversary, Silhouette continues to offer timeless designs that capture the spirit of the age without compromising high quality and premium standards.
A Visionary Couple…
The success story began in 1964 when Anneliese and Arnold Schmied, armed with their vision and passion, founded their company and the Silhouette brand. Offering the world’s most beautiful eyewear and building a brand that would become synonymous with high quality was at the heart of their vision. Anneliese and Arnold Schmied were ideally suited for the business; Anneliese was a perfectionist with an eye for quality, while Arnold was a financial whiz. By combining their dual skills, they revolutionized the eyewear market. Now in its third generation, Silhouette International remains a family business through and through. For 59 years, Silhouette has been producing innovative eyewear of the highest precision and quality. From its roots as a small start-up, it has grown into an international market leader in the premium segment of rimless eyewear. Its headquarters in Austria and the investments made since the company’s foundation ensure that the company will continue to build on its quality leadership in the premium eyewear segment for decades to come.
Timelessness with the Spirit of the Age
Silhouette, which is the same age as the company, demonstrates extremely high standards of craftsmanship, quality and design, as well as a strong commitment to its roots in Linz, Austria. Distinctive aesthetics often arise from the combination of two opposite poles. This combination has become the hallmark of Silhouette, as it tends to achieve a unique lightness with inherent strength. Silhouette has remained true to its identity while constantly forging new paths. Creating timeless designs that reflect the spirit of the times has become the brand’s uncompromising value. Silhouette redefines the way lenses and frames are put together. The brand develops lenses and frames with a single touch, using exquisite craftsmanship to ensure that each pair of glasses is personalized. This unique full-service approach is what makes the brand’s eyewear unique and a masterpiece. Every Silhouette frame is carefully crafted at their international headquarters in Austria. More than eighty percent of the production process is still done by hand and the process the frame goes through takes 40 days to complete. From design to production and distribution, the company handles every step from start to finish. In this way, the brand’s frames are not ordinary eyewear, but artistic creations that symbolize decades of cutting-edge work.
Revolutionizing
One of the most important stops on Silhouette’s journey to success is the iconic Titan Minimal Art collection. First launched in 1999, this exclusive collection revolutionized the global optical market. The collection consisted of feather-light designs weighing just 1.8 grams with no frames, screws or hinges. The frames in the Titan Minimal Art collection offered a level of comfort unmatched by any other eyewear to date. The brand’s approach of “Eliminating all that is unnecessary makes the essential unique” became the inspiration behind the core design concept.
Collaboration with NASA
Silhouette’s Titan Minimal Art series attracted the attention of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with its lightness, advanced technology, material quality, screwless design and suitability for use in space. As a result of its cooperation with NASA, the brand left the earth’s atmosphere on February 11, 2000 with the space shuttle Endeavour. This collaboration was a milestone in the brand’s history. Astronauts carry at least 5 pairs of optical glasses and 5 pairs of sunglasses on their space journeys. A space shuttle accelerates up to 4 times the speed of sound during its flight into orbit. Therefore, the weight of people and equipment increases 8 times. Silhouette’s Titan Minimal Art series weighs only 1.8 grams and the comfort provided by high quality titanium makes this special series ideal for astronauts.
Perfect Harmony… Outstanding Quality
The brand’s collections are characterized by clear, fluid and minimalist lines. The consistent simplicity of the designs has become synonymous with Silhouette. All of Silhouette’s eyewear perfectly adapts to the wearer’s face while at the same time exhibiting exceptional balance. The use of high-end materials for premium eyewear has enabled Silhouette to create optimum wear and comfort thanks to high-tech titanium, which is flexible, robust and feather-light. With more than 50 years of experience in eyewear manufacturing, Silhouette manages to exceed the standards of its customers thanks to processes created and specially developed in Austria, favoring the highest degree of precision and know-how. Silhouette is the leader in rimless eyewear in the premium segment and has seen significant growth in the full frame segment in the last few years. The brand’s tradition, combined with a sustainable approach, the highest level of precision, an unwavering passion for craftsmanship and a commitment to its location in Austria, results in collections of superior quality blended with unique aesthetics.
Wins countless awards
Silhouette eyewear is now worn by more than 12 million people worldwide. Its unique eyewear has won the brand 11 prestigious design awards globally. These awards include the IF Product Design Award for Titan Minimal Art series models every year from 2001 to 2006; the Silmo d’OR award; the Grand Prix International de la Technologie et de la Mode award in 1999 and 2003; the Prix Silmo silver award in the sports frames category in 2003 for the “Gazelle” model produced in collaboration with the Adidas brand; and the Red Dot award, which it has won many times.
Silhouette’s Milestones
1964
Anneliese and Arnold Schmied founded the company and the Silhouette brand in 1964. They began to develop their brand with passion and a global perspective. Today, the third generation runs the family business and the brand.
1974
Silhouette presents the sensational Futura sunglasses collection, and the international fashion world erupts.
1975
The relationship between Silhouette and the world of fashion and accessories is getting closer. For the first time, Silhouette creates a collection of earrings to complement its eyewear. Silhouette is the first eyewear brand to send its fascinating accessories for better vision to international catwalks.
1978
Arnold and Klaus Schmied, the four children of Anneliese and Arnold Schmied, join the company and immediately begin to influence the Silhouette brand with their ideas and passion.
1983
1992
After numerous major and important revolutions in the 70s and 80s, the world of eyewear looked back to Linz. Silhouette had discovered titanium for eyewear production and presented the first rimless titanium eyewear without hinges: Minimal Art. Minimal Art set a benchmark in frameless eyewear design and even made the cover of the International Design Yearbook.
1999
The industry-leading Titan Minimal Art collection is now available. Weighing just 1.8 grams, Silhouette Titan Minimal Art revolutionized the eyewear market in 1999 and became a worldwide success story. It consisted of the first screwless, hingeless, titanium eyewear that perfectly adapted to the needs of the individual wearer.
2000
Thanks to weightlessness with a secure fit, Silhouette has achieved another success. The eyewear from the Titan Minimal Art collection were approved for space travel from the year 2000. The screwless and hinge-less eyewear were seen as the perfect option for astronauts experiencing weightlessness.
2006
As one of the first eyewear manufacturers, Silhouette recognized the need for intelligent sun protection for the eyes and began using not only UV filters and blue light filters, but also forward-looking IQ POL technology to protect the eye from long-term damage.
2007
Silhouette is conquering international concert halls with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. About 70 musicians in the world-famous orchestra wear Silhouette’s rimless eyewear and become ambassadors of the Austrian brand’s success story.
2014
Silhouette celebrates its 50th anniversary with innovations. Silhouette celebrated its golden anniversary with a reinterpretation of the cult classic Futura. The model caused a sensation in the 70s. Its subsequent reinterpretation signals the brand’s unwavering vision for the future.
2016
Silhouette presents its Atelier collection.
2017
Silhouette launches Vision Sensation®.
2018
Continuously successful, Silhouette produces its 100 millionth pair of glasses in 2018. What started as a vision with the first Silhouette eyewear in 1964, has resulted in 100 million premium eyewear in 2018.
2021
With an uncompromising view of the future, Silhouette uses the Buy Local Initiative for the first time to combine the advantages of the online and offline world. The Silhouette digital showroom combines the digital world with personalized advice in a highly innovative way, allowing eye care professionals to immerse themselves in Silhouette’s virtual world.
Kasım 2023
