Selima Salaun: A New York City Love Story

Her name is synonymous with New York City. In the optical and fashion world, she is a household name. In fact, one only needs to say her first name, and we all know who she is. She is Selima—Selima Salaun, renowned eyewear designer, optician/optometrist and founder of Selima Optique. For 30-plus years, she has been designing and crafting independent eyewear under the Selima Optique brand and operating multiple optical retail boutiques under the same name. She is also a founding member of the Eyewear Designers of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (edCFDA) after having served on the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for many years. Beyond her iconic career in eyewear and fashion, she is perhaps best known for her magnetic personality and her devoted love for New York City.

Let’s take a quick retrospect into Selima’s career and how she arrived at this point in time as one of optical’s most accomplished and adored eyewear designers, entrepreneur and creative visionary.

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Eyewear and opticianry were in Selima’s blood—her mother had owned an eyewear manufacturing factory and optical shops in her native Algeria. Though her childhood dream as a self-professed animal lover was to be a veterinarian, she took the optical path and followed in her mother’s footsteps. Amidst her opticianry and optometric studies, Selima began working at luxury optical boutique Royal Optique in Paris, where she immersed herself in all aspects of the shop’s operations—frame fitting and selling, eye exams, custom orders, etc.—building the foundation that would frame her optical career. It was here where she developed an eye for eclectic and vibrant eyewear, introducing the boutique to renowned eyewear designers such as Alain Mikli. Her success with selling Mikli’s frames led to a new opportunity as she began working at his Paris boutique and assisting him in the international expansion of his shops. When the expansion reached New York City, Selima relocated and began a new life in the city managing the Alain Mikli boutique. Little did she know she would never leave, falling in love with the city that would also kick off the next chapter of her career.