So you’re getting ready for a night out. Your outfit is on point, you’re slaying from head to heels, but there’s one problem—your glasses. All this prep work and your glasses. don’t. match. Yikes!
Fear not.
Ever heard of Zenni Optical? That super cool West Coast (San Francisco) based brand, that offers TONS of options for your next revamped look?
Zenni Optical is currently visiting campuses throughout the nation on their college RV tour.
The company ventured out from California to offer college students their exclusive promos and ultimately reveal thousands of different styles, all at affordable prices! We all know college students are always on the lookout for good deals to save money (#textbooksarentcheap).
“With Zenni, you can get premium prescription glasses for $50 or less, which makes it possible to switch up your eyewear looks the same way you do with jeans or shoes” – Mark Brutten said.
We had the opportunity to interview director of brand marketing at Zenni Optical Mark Brutten, brand manager Hernan Vicuña and celebrity stylist Lindsay Albanese as they made a quick stop at Texas A&M.
Her Campus Texas A&M: How do you think style has progressed, in terms of glasses?
Mark Brutten: The biggest progress in eyewear style is affordability. Before Zenni pioneered the online eyewear business in 2003, people were either locked into one pair of glasses each year due to insurance constraints, or they had to spend hundreds of dollars for their eyewear and prescription lenses.
Hernan Vicuña: Style has progressed in a way that, at the beginning, glasses were just a necessity—something that people had to have. With the really high cost of glasses, people really had one pair to depend on. But with Zenni’s model and our value proposition of our glasses starting at $6.95, people can now accessorize their glasses and mix-in-match to whatever style they are wearing. They can wear a pair of glasses for driving, one for being outside, inside, or for work. We’ve turned the idea of glasses into—instead of an accessory—a “neccessory,” where it is needed but can be just a point in style.
Aggies were really excited for this stop. They jumped at the chance to get free eye exams, try on various styles, and decide which pair would best suit them.
“People go to their opticians and they show them a range of glasses, and people think that is the only choice that they have, but they have more to choose from and they don’t have to pay $700 on just one pair,” Hernan Vicuña said.
Apart from working with stars, like Bella Thorne and Shay Mitchell, celebrity stylist Lindsay Albanese teamed up with Zenni Optical to “hand-select” the fall fashion line for the RV tour.
HC TAMU: What was it like to collaborate with Lindsay Albanese? How was the collaboration helpful for the Zenni tour?
Mark Brutten: Lindsay is fun, approachable and appreciates style that is both fashionable and functional, which makes her a perfect fit for Zenni. Her hand-selected frames have been a huge hit at each stop of our tour.
“Texas A&M students have just as much to say about style as UCLA students. We set out on our western U.S. college tour to learn from students, identify style trends that are important to them, and provide free vision screenings so they can easily get the prescription eyewear they need for academic success,” Mark Brutten said.
So we’re left with one question: Can we get free glasses?
If you didn’t get the chance to meet with Zenni Optical during their tour, then feel free to check them out on their official website and social media!
www.instagram.com/zennioptical