Leonardo Del Vecchio, founded Luxottica eyewear empire, dies

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Leonardo Del Vecchio, who founded eyewear empire Luxottica and turned an everyday object into a global fashion item, has died in Italy. The governor of Veneto, the northeast region where Del Vecchio started his business in a simple trailer in an Alpine valley town, said the industrialist died on Monday.  He was 87. Italian media said Del Vecchio died in a Milan hospital. After a childhood in a Milan orphanage, Del Vecchio went on to become one of Italy’s richest industrialists. Globalizing fashion eyewear, Luxottica now makes must-have frames for dozens of stellar names in fashion, including Armani, Burberry and Chanel.