MILAN — The changes at Valentino continue to take place.

Kering Eyewear and the Rome-based couture house on Monday will unveil a newly signed global agreement. Kering Eyewear will develop and distribute the sun and optical collections under the Valentino brand, starting with the spring 2026 season.

The agreement will be effective from Jan. 1, 2026, but the first designs will debut on Oct. 5 during Valentino‘s fashion show in Paris.

The men’s and women’s collections of optical and sun glasses will be available in Valentino boutiques offline and online, department and specialty stores, and optical stores worldwide starting in March.

“We are honored to welcome Valentino into the Kering Eyewear portfolio, and to have the opportunity to contribute to the brand’s continued success,” said Roberto Vedovotto, founder, president and chief executive officer of Kering Eyewear. “As a prestigious maison de couture, Valentino stands for masterful craftsmanship, exquisite design, and is a symbol of a one-of-a-kind style. We are therefore committed to developing its sunglasses and frames collections in line with its vision by leveraging Kering Eyewear’s expertise in high-end luxury eyewear and Valentino’s iconic codes, unique heritage, and savoir-faire.”

The new agreement contributes to further consolidate Kering Eyewear’s stance in the high-end eyewear segment.

“We are delighted to announce this strategically important partnership with Kering Eyewear,” said Riccardo Bellini, CEO of Valentino. “Marrying Maison Valentino’s matchless creativity and iconic style with Kering Eyewear’s unrivaled know-how in luxury eyewear manufacturing and distribution, we will work together to further elevate the Valentino Eyewear experience.”

At the same time, Bellini expressed the company’s “sincere gratitude to Akn Group for the collaboration and the successful development of our eyewear business over the past years. It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that we now embark on this new chapter.”

Valentino first inked a 10-year license with Akn Group, formerly Akoni Group, for the design, manufacture and worldwide distribution of the brand’s eyewear collections in 2021, starting in July 2022. The optical collection was launched a year later.

Akoni Group was established in 2019 under the Alsara Investment Group umbrella and changed its name to Akn earlier this year. In June it acquired the Switzerland-based independent eyewear brand Götti, which was founded in 1998. Included in the acquisition is premium lens company Eyetech. Akn, which is led by CEO Rosario Toscano, also produces eyewear for Balmain as well as the Akoni brand.

Founded in 2014, Kering Eyewear was a pioneer in changing the business model for luxury groups in the eyewear category, straying from the well-trodden licensing business model. It has grown to produce and distribute collections for 14 brands, including Gucci, Cartier, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Chloé, Alexander McQueen, Montblanc, Dunhill, Alaïa and Puma. It also owns the Lindberg, Maui Jim and Zeal Optics brands. Also, in April, the company inked an agreement to acquire Italian eyewear manufacturers Visard and Mistral. In June, further expanding its industrial footprint, it said it was acquiring Italian manufacturer Lenti from Safilo.

The deal followed the partnership inked in May between Kering Eyewear and Google for the development of AI-powered glasses with Android XR, as reported.

In 2024, Kering Eyewear reached revenues of 1.6 billion euros, a 6 percent increase on 2023 on a comparable basis. It reported recurring operating income of 277 million euros, and a margin of 17.5 percent on sales.

Recent development at Valentino include the arrival of Bellini, managing director of the brand’s parent Mayhoola, as CEO in September, succeeding Jacopo Venturini, and Kering and Mayhoola jointly announcing that the current ownership structure of the Valentino house would not change before 2028 at the earliest.

This represents an amendment to their shareholders’ agreement, inked at the time of Kering’s acquisition of a stake in Valentino in 2023. Two years ago, Kering bought a 30 percent stake in Valentino for 1.7 billion euros in cash as part of a broader strategic partnership with the Qatari investment fund. As per that original deal, the French group had an option to buy 100 percent of Valentino’s capital by 2028, while Mayhoola could become a shareholder in Kering, with the final purchase price linked to the Italian fashion brand’s performance. Following the new agreement, Mayhoola’s put options on Kering exercisable in 2026 and 2027 for its remaining 70 percent stake in Valentino are now postponed to 2028 and 2029, respectively. Kering’s call option to acquire Mayhoola’s stake in 2028 is also deferred to 2029.

Alsara Investment Group is an international private investment company based in Switzerland. In addition to a portfolio of owned and operated investments in luxury brands, it provides investment advisory and management, and invests in venture capital, private equity and growth funds. In 2021 it bought a majority stake in Khrisjoy. The group’s portfolio also includes investor Bidayat; design venture Fromm; jewelry brand Azza Fahmy, and Egypt-based handbag label Okhtein. Last year it launched a new luxury brand called Retori and it is also gearing up to revive the Walter Albini brand.