Apple Smartglasses and the Battle for the Most Valuable Real Estate on the Body
If you want to understand the stakes in the smartglasses race, look at the face. Tom Ford once said something that’s stuck with me. Before fashion, he trained briefly as an architect, and it clearly shaped the way he saw eyewear. He believed glasses were architectural, not decorative. They didn’t just sit on the face, they changed it. In his words, “the face is the most valuable piece of real estate on the body”.
That idea has never been more relevant because once you place something on your face, it stops being just functional, It becomes about identity, how you carry yourself and how others perceive you. That’s where most smartglasses strategies today fall short.
Where Things Stand
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch its own smartglasses by the end of 2026. If it does, it enters a space already being shaped by two of its biggest competitors. Meta has secured a multi-year, multi-brand partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the owner of Ray Ban and Oakley and they make glasses under licience for Prada, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and many other fashion giants. Meta also own a 3% stake in EssilorLuxottica. Google has taken a different route, working with Kering, Gentle Monster (which it has a stake in), and Warby Parker. So far, so strategic. But there’s a problem. Most of the positioning around smartglasses has come from a consumer electronics mindset simply because its big tech that’s funding most of the marketing. Frames have been treated as mini gadgets, the marketing has leaned on specs, not style and the retail presentation is a world away from the aspirational style led campaigns of traditional eyewear marketing. The current result is products that may be technologically advanced but they lack emotional appeal. Smartglasses aren’t phones, they aren’t something you tuck away in a pocket or bag. They sit on your face, defining how you show up in the world. They need to work hard technically, but they need to work even harder emotionally. That’s the part tech brands still haven’t cracked.
Can Apple Do It Differently?
Apple has a clear advantage here. It already enjoys design credibility and cultural capital far beyond Silicon Valley. Its products are worn proudly Its aesthetics have been absorbed by fashion and design communities and owning Apple is already a status symbol. The Apple Watch Hermès edition proved it could partner with the luxury world without diluting its core.
But smartglasses are a different beast. A single fashion collaboration won’t be enough if smartglasses are to replace the smartphone over time, they’ll need to scale across demographics, lifestyles, and style preferences. That means multiple formats, multiple designs, and likely, multiple brand partners. Unlike Apple Watch, this isn’t about a niche luxury variant, it’s about creating a platform for the face.
Who Could Apple Work With?
The biggest players are already aligned elsewhere – EssilorLuxottica with Meta and Kering, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker with Google, But a few major eyewear groups remain on the table:
Marcolin
Licenses: Tom Ford, Guess, Christian Louboutin, Zegna
An Apple x Tom Ford capsule would be elegant, directional, and commanding. The architecture would be right because Mr Ford would oversee this.
De Rigo Vision
Licenses: Police, Chopard, Carolina Herrera, Mulberry
Police has a history with wearable tech and strong lifestyle cues. It could be refreshed in the right context but it doesn’t feel quite right.
Safilo Group
Licenses: Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Missoni, Carrera
Tommy could be Apple’s Gen Z play. Accessible, youthful, and ready for reinvention.
Thélios (owned by LVMH)
Handles Dior, Fendi, Loewe, Celine
If Apple wanted to create the ultimate high-end statement frame, a limited collaboration via Thélios could make it happen. But LVMH would want full control of narrative and brand expression. A one-off couture drop might be possible, but unlikely to scale.
More Than a Product, This is a New Category
What’s clear is that Apple has both the brand power and the industrial design capability to launch smartglasses on its own. But the real opportunity sits beyond hardware. It’s about helping consumers adopt an entirely new category, one that blends fashion, intelligence, and self-expression and that’s where the market is still wide open. There is no dominant narrative around what smartglasses should be. No cultural blueprint yet and no visual language that makes this feel desirable rather than experimental. This is truly the first consumer electronics category that’s about designing a feeling.
This is Where We Come In
At Elluminate Me, we sit at the intersection of emerging technology and cultural desirability. We’ve led creative and strategic work for eyewear brands including Ray Ban, Oakley, Prada, Burberry, Versace and Chanel. We helped bring Ray Ban Meta to market along with my personal experience of launching Oculus for Meta. We understand how to build emotional resonance around products that are both wearable and intelligent.
Smartglasses won’t win through better chips or brighter displays. They’ll win by becoming part of people’s identities. The face is personal and the opportunity is enormous – the language to express it hasn’t been written yet.
We’re helping to write it.
If your team is exploring this space and you’re unsure how to bring technology and style together in a way people will actually want to wear, let’s talk.
