Her future’s so bright…

den Wexler ’89 needs sunglasses just to shield her eyes from the limelight. As public relations manager for sunglasses producer Safilo USA, Wexler often works with celebrities, hoping their star power will reflect some luster onto Safilo’s shades.

Safilo USA, in Parsippany, manufactures licensed eyewear for brands such as Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior and Fossil. Wexler helps craft an image for the company by making sure their shades are seen on VIPs like Bruce Willis, Lenny Kravitz and Madonna.

While Wexler enjoys working with stars, her real passion for the job comes from an interest in fashion. As a freshman, Wexler envisioned working as a fashion buyer. But when she realized most buyers work with finance more than form, she switched to communications, which became her runway to the fashion industry.

At her first job in a small PR agency, Wexler soon led an account with Revlon and found herself where she wanted to be: working with fashion. Now, nearly ten years later, Wexler is the eyewear fashion expert working with fashion editors to promote the latest trends in eyewear. “They trust my judgment on what looks right,” says Wexler.

For Wexler, those opportunities include becoming a celebrity herself. Wexler once provided Madonna new shades, and contacted Entertainment Weekly regarding the coup. The magazine then interviewed Wexler for an article on eyewear trends. The article caught the eye of a Donny and Marie Osmond show producer, and Wexler was asked to be a guest on the program. Wexler worked with Donny and Marie, discussed fashion, and, of course, wore her sunglasses.

Little did she know her future was so bright that she would have to wear shades.
Wexler and actress Sela Ward could have used some of her company’s sunglasses to block the flash of paparazzi cameras at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

from fall ’00