Christian Roth (born in

Hanover, Germany Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany a ...

) is a designer of luxury

spectacles Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples o ...

Early life

Roth is the son to Dr. Fritz-Jürgen and Sabine Roth, geb. von Prittwitz und Gaffron, and recalls receiving a pair of Ray-Bans from his father at age 14 as a defining moment in discovering his passion for eyewear. In 1980, Roth started his career in New York as an assistant to the late fashion photographer Rico Puhlmann. In 1978, he met French-born Eric Domege, who was studying marketing at the Academie Commerciale Internationale (A.C.I.) at the time, in Paris. The pair met again in New York, and in 1983 they founded Optical Affairs.

Personal life

Roth married his partner, Eric Domege, on January 9, 2015, in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

The 1990s

Under the names Christian Roth and Optical Affairs, Roth and Domege continued to design eyewear that was depicted on the covers of Fashion publications, ranging from ''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion".Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides infor ...

'' to ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. In 1990, Roth and the brand were inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Roth was the first eyewear designer to join the CFDA. In 1998, Roth and Domege formed a partnership with the Charmant Group to produce and distribute Christian Roth eyewear worldwide. The Japanese manufacturer helped the Christian Roth brand expand internationally, throughout the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia.

2000–Present

In 2002 the pair was honored by the art world with the inclusion of their designs from the 1980s and 1990s in the "Taking Eyeglasses Seriously" exhibition at the

Triennale The Triennale di Milano is a design and art museum in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, which was designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 and 1933; construction was fina ...

di Milano. From 2000 to 2004, Roth and Domege collaborated with designer

Michael Kors Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

on his eyewear collections. The pair has also worked with

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

on his line of fashion eyewear from 2007 to 2011. The brand Christian Roth celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009. The designers released 25 limited edition with monogram, versions of their Series A style. In 2010, Christian Roth ended its 12-year licensing deal with Charmant. and retook control of all its trademarks. In 2011, Christian Roth granted Korean-based eyewear firm BCD Korea, Co. Ltd the license the produce and distribute Christian Roth eyewear throughout Asi

In 2012, Christian Roth and Eric Domege founded the firm Optical Affairs Company and launched their e-commerce destination christian-roth.com during New York's F/W 2013 Fashion Wee
Women's Wear Daily Fashion Scoop February 13, 2013
On October 6, 2014, The Council of Fashion Designers of America has created a new committee, The Eyewear Designers of the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory des ...

CFDA, (edCFDA), which aims to boost the profile of the eyewear sector. Christian Roth is acting as the group's spokesman

In 2015, DITA Group acquired Christian Roth Eyewear

Kate Moss 1992 Series 4001

The brand Christian Roth reintroduced in Spring 2019 its Series 4001 sunglasses in collaboration with the photographer Stephanie Pfriender Stylander featuring her iconic 1992 images of

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

wearing Roth's Series 4001.

Vision Expo x edCFDA Talent Search 2020

Spearheaded by Christian Roth, supported by Vision Expo and the Eyewear Designers of the

(edCFDA), the Talent Search 2020 aims to identify and support emerging eyewear designers and foster their talent during the symbolic year for the eyewear industry, 2020.

F1

Christian Roth is the official sunglasses supplier of

Haas F1 Team Haas Formula LLC, competing as Haas F1 Team, is an American-licensed Formula One racing team established by NASCAR Cup Series team co-owner Gene Haas in April 2014. The team originally intended to make its debut at the start of the season b ...

Driver

Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...

References

External links

CFDAWomen’s Wear DailyWomen’s Wear DailyWomen's Wear Daily
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Christian Eyewear brands 1959 births Living people German fashion designers American fashion designers LGBT fashion designers Fashion accessory brands Luxury brands High fashion brands 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion