amidst the media cacophony on all things Gen Y—from marketing strategies to statistics (on such curiosities as how much wine they drink; to wit, it was a whopping 42% of all vino imbibed in 2015 according to the Wine Market Council)—our May issue has for the last two years been our “Millennial” issue, focusing on everything from Gen Y’s most-coveted specs to buying habits.

But, this year, we’re shaking things up with our first-ever “Un-Millennial” issue—to shine a light on the other, less-talked-about, less-fawned-over (but still mighty influential) generations, from the all-important boomers and defiant Gen X to the up-and-coming Generation Z (born 1996-2010).

Starting on page 46, in The Generation Map, generational expert Hannah Ubl serves up four critical takeaways + turnoffs for each major consumer generation today. And, our Generation Nation fashion feature on page 34 delivers a roundup of eyewear spot-on for the other generations.

In The Rule Breaker on page 44, our (truly un-millennial) septuagenarian cover model, Betsey Johnson, sits down exclusively with EB to chat about her 50-year run as a fashion influencer, her rock ‘n’ roll-inspired eyewear collection, and her uncanny ability to perform splits on stage at the wonderful age of 75.

Now, despite our focus this issue, please know that we love Gen Y as much as the next person—and so do eyecare professionals. In fact, our annual Millennials + ECPs Focus Group Study (page 16) reveals that a full 77% of ECPs see the millennial market as Very Important or Important to their business. Still, Gen Y accounts for just 19% of their patient base compared to 26% for Gen X and 29% for boomers. Food for thought…we hope you enjoy the issue!

Erinn Morgan
Editor-in-Chief + Editorial Director
Eyecare Business