Our Q&A series for November focuses on one of Mondottica Group’s longest standing brand partners, Ted Baker.
We sit down with Charlotte Bannell, Mondottica Group Brand Manager, and, Charlie Hughes, Mondottica Group Senior Eyewear Designer, to discuss the recent changes at Ted Baker, the current AW24 eyewear collection and what is in the pipeline for the future of the much-loved British brand
Mondottica Group brand partner, Ted Baker, has been undergoing ownership changes recently, could you explain more and how has this affected its eyewear partnership?
Charlotte: Ted Baker owner Authentic Brands Group (ABG) operates by using different partners for each area of the business. The retail partner for the UK and Europe fell in to financial difficulties, which ABG tried to mitigate. The rest of the Ted Baker business was unaffected.
Charlotte: Since then, there has been some really positive changes, ABG has joined with US-based United Legwear & Apparel Co., who Mondottica Group has previously worked with through our brand partner Scotch & Soda.
United Legwear & Apparel Co. has taken over the Ted Baker UK and European e-commerce business and the Ted Baker UK website relaunched on 31st October. Ted Baker eyewear will be on there soon and complementary European sites are set to launch in early 2025.
Globally, it is business as normal. Ted Baker is opening stores in the Middle East and has just opened a new store in South Africa.
Our eyewear partnership has not been affected in any way, it has actually made it stronger. ABG works with license partners and knows we are best-in-class at what we do and experts in the eyewear field. If anything, it has given us more freedom to explore the Ted Baker brand.
Could you describe the key highlight styles and design details for women and men in Ted Baker AW24 eyewear collection?
Charlie: Ted Baker women’s AW24 key highlights include a 3D metal bow on the temples. This is an iconic Ted Baker design that exists across all its accessory categories and apparel. It is what they known for and sells extremely well on eyewear.
A standout is the gem detail on the metal frame ‘Grace’, which has been extremely popular. This is a recolour of a best seller. Other additions include a bespoke bow patterned wire core, which we will see more of moving into Spring/Summer 25.
For Ted Baker men’s, there are bespoke wire cores. These were inspired by textures and details seen on Ted Baker clothing. We use the same assets the brand uses across cufflinks, satchels and shoes, such as the ’T’ detail, which has been 3D rendered and put onto the AW24 eyewear.
We have a hidden ’T’ detail on metal caps, reflecting the details that are true to Ted Baker.
As always, we have hand-drawn prints, inside on the men’s collection, and both inside and outside on the women’s frames.
What future activations and developments are in the pipeline for Ted Baker eyewear?
Charlie: Each season, we work closely with the brand on all the key seasonal assets they are using across the Ted Baker apparel and accessory categories. They will use specific designs on bags and shoes and our great relationship with Ted Baker allows us to work them into our eyewear designs.
We have the noticed the way the consumer is buying has shifted and they are taking a few more risks. They want more colour and we are seeing, in our bestsellers, a lot more fashion shapes which is really exciting for us and our design team. We produce trend-led styles, but always with a Ted Baker twist on them.
Charlotte: The Ted Baker ‘Eyeconic’ collection, featuring historical and current bestsellers, has been created with a range of approximately ten models each for men and women. They are really strong sellers that will never be out-of-stock, season-after-season, with drops of newness on top of that.
We are launching a Ted Baker Reader collection; three optical and three sunglasses in the four most popular strengths of lenses. Each comes in box with a case and is launching in selected airports to begin with in Q2, 2025. It is an exciting new product category for Ted Baker and for Mondottica Group.
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