The MIDO Awards are back at MIDO 2026, recognizing each year the best expressions of innovation, design, and responsibility in the eyewear industry. More than just an awards ceremony, it is one of the fair’s most anticipated moments, bringing together the international eyewear community to celebrate quality, vision, and choices that are truly shaping the future of the sector.
The ceremony will take place on Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 12:30 pm in Fashion Square, Hall 1, hosted by Simone Lijoi and Lorraine Berton, President of MIDO and ANFAO. It is the perfect opportunity to experience MIDO in its most celebratory dimension, full of energy, encounters, and shared vision.
Elevating the Retail Experience: The Best Store Awards
The awards showcase the best of eyewear from different perspectives, always with a modern outlook. Returning is the Best Store Award, now in its eleventh edition, recognizing optical stores that stand out not only for aesthetics but also for identity, customer experience, and the ability to transform retail into a true space of connection. The award is divided into two categories, Best Store Design and Best Store Innovation, judged by an international panel of design and retail experts, managers, creative directors, journalists, and designers.
Best Store Design highlights stores where the shopping experience is enhanced by attention to detail: layout, spatial balance, material choices, furnishings, and design that makes every element part of a coherent, recognizable experience. Best Store Innovation, on the other hand, focuses on a broader vision of evolution: not only new services and customer care but also the ability to innovate relationships with suppliers, digital and traditional communication, and even storytelling about the company’s journey, people, and the human and emotional dimension that makes a space truly unique.
Commitment in Action: The CSE Award for Sustainability
At the heart of the awards is also the CSE Award – Certified Sustainable Eyewear, dedicated to MIDO exhibitors who interpret sustainability as a real, measurable commitment. Projects are evaluated by an international jury based on specific criteria: reducing consumption and waste, using recycled materials, enhancing the supply chain, improving production and distribution processes, adopting renewable energy, and turning sustainability into a tangible path. This award celebrates results, not declarations: today, sustainability is not optional, it is a competitive and cultural benchmark.
To emphasize how central this approach is to the industry, MIDO 2026 introduces the new CSE Corporate Award, born from the Stand Up For Green experience and designed to recognize the exhibitor company that excels in sustainability. The focus here goes beyond individual products, highlighting companies that fully integrate ESG principles into their corporate policies, turning sustainability into a strategic, continuous, and concrete choice. This award speaks of vision, method, and responsibility, reinforcing a clear message: innovation cannot be separated from impact.
A Collective Vision for the Future of Eyewear
What makes this ceremony unique is its collective dimension. In just a few minutes, the MIDO Awards reflect the current state of the industry and the direction it is taking. It’s not just about awaiting the results; it is about the value of recognition that, category by category, highlights different but complementary models of excellence, spanning retail, research, design, and responsibility. It is one of those moments when MIDO expresses itself in its purest form: a platform that observes, selects, and rewards what deserves to set the benchmark.
MIDO is welcoming you in Fashion Square (Hall 1) on Sunday, February 1, at 12:30 pm to celebrate the winners of the MIDO Awards 2026.
