From September 2nd to 12th, the Lido is the most photographed catwalk of the year and the accessory that decides everything weighs thirty grams. Thélios, eyewear expert of the LVMH group, is the official eyewear sponsor of the Venice Film Festival for the fifth consecutive year.

Venice Lido . September. That light. There's a precise moment, between the Excelsior pier and the wall of photographers, when the star stops being a person and becomes an image. It lasts three seconds. And in those three seconds, the first thing we see isn't the dress, it's not the jewellery. It's the lens. The sunglasses aren't a defensive accessory; they're the character's first line.

Pamela Anderson, in Celine (Getty Images)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Martin McDonagh, in Celine (Getty Images)

Georgina Rodriguez, in Celine (Getty Images)

<h2>Longarone–Lido, round trip</h2>
Thélios , the eyewear expert of the LVMH Group, returns as the official eyewear sponsor of the 2026 Venice International Film Festival. This is the fifth consecutive year that the partnership having started in 2022. The press release comes from Longarone, in the province of Belluno, on July 24th, and it is precisely there that the company has its own manufacturing facility, and it is from there that the bond with the Veneto region begins, which CEO Alessandro Zanardo claims together with "creativity, savoir-faire and craftsmanship".
The portfolio, to be clear, is what you see on every red carpet on the planet: Dior, Fendi, Celine, Givenchy, Loewe, Kenzo, Berluti, Bulgari, TAG Heuer and Fred, Stella McCartney and the proprietary brands Barton Perreira and Vuarnet. ￼ Eleven fashion houses and more, just one factory in the Veneto region.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, in Celine (Getty Images)

Carlotta Gamba, in Fendi (Getty Images)

Emilia Schüle, in Dior (Getty Images)

Claire Foy, in Barton Perreira (Getty Images)

<h2>The red carpet</h2>
The 83rd exhibition will be held at the Lido from September 2nd to 12th, directed by Alberto Barbera, opened by Danny Boyle 's Ink and chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, with Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement awarded to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn . And this year, once again, glasses worked overtime. Clooney arrived for his Lion in an Armani tuxedo and sunglasses, Liam Gallagher brought his ever-present dark shades to the carpet, and Brooklyn Beckham opted for lightly tinted lenses under his tuxedo. None of them took them off for the flashes. It's just the flashes that have adapted.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, in Bulgari (Getty Images)

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In recent editions, the Lido has seen Adrien Brody in Barton Perreira, Lady Gaga in Celine, Pedro Almodóvar in Loewe, and Camille Cottin in Dior; Sigourney Weaver arrived in the Celine Bold 3 Dots, Miriam Leone wore the Fendi First during the day, and FF Diamond on the red carpet. Over the years, the headquarters has been the Presidential Suite of the Hotel Excelsior, transformed by Thélios into a showroom and lounge for talent, media, and guests.
<h2>Why does the lens always win?</h2>
The point is that cinema and glasses share the same device. A surface that filters the world and delivers a version of it. Throughout the history of cinema, glasses have defined iconic characters and timeless imaginary figures, becoming a distinctive element of cinematic aesthetics. Think of how many faces you recognise by their frames rather than their chins.
That's why it works better at the Lido than elsewhere. In Venice, the star arrives in the water, with the sun low, without the filter of the car and the garage: he's exposed, walking, human. The glasses reconstruct the distance. They restore mystery, myth.
Ten days of premieres, and the statistics never change. The dresses are forgotten by October, but the lenses stay.

Why No One Takes Off Their Sunglasses in Venice

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