The Italian eyewear specialist aligned with Google’s Android XR division to build glasses that blended couture design with voice-guided, AI-enabled functions.
Kering Eyewear confirmed on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with Google to create AI-powered smart glasses running on Android XR. The project married the Italian company’s design know-how with Google’s extended-reality software, aiming to fold advanced functions into frames that still looked—and felt—like fashion.
“We are honored to share the values of innovation and forward thinking with Google, and we are proud to partner with them to explore new horizons for the future development of our company,” said Roberto Vedovotto, founder, president and chief executive officer of Kering Eyewear. “Together, we are shaping a product that people will want to wear: a pair of masterfully designed, high-quality, stylish glasses that unlock the potential of artificial intelligence, while redefining the way of interacting with both the real and virtual worlds.”
Shahram Izadi, general manager and vice president of XR at Google, added: “We’ve always believed in blending cutting-edge technology with great user experiences. Integrating our immersive XR platform with Kering Eyewear’s glasses will give consumers the fashion and function to get the most out of Android XR.”
Neither company gave a release date, but both stressed that the prototype had been conceived for everyday use, with voice-guided prompts and context-aware displays intended to keep wearers’ hands free.
The venture capped a decade of rapid growth for Kering Eyewear. Founded in 2014, the firm rewrote the luxury playbook by bringing production and distribution in-house for brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, later acquiring Maui Jim, Lindberg and Zeal Optics. The business reported 2024 revenue of €1.6 billion and a 17.5 percent operating margin, buoyed by renewed demand for premium frames. In April it agreed to buy long-time manufacturing partners Visard and Mistral, securing additional capacity ahead of the smart-glasses push.
Tech groups have courted fashion houses for years, with varying results. Snap’s camera-equipped Spectacles linked with Gucci in 2019, Bose’s audio Frames offered an open-ear soundtrack, and EssilorLuxottica teamed with Meta on Ray-Ban Stories—now in a second generation that enables live streaming to social platforms. Safilo’s Carrera line collaborated with Amazon on an Alexa-enabled model, while Gentle Monster worked with Huawei.
For Kering Eyewear, the Google partnership signalled ambition to go beyond lenses and acetate. If the final product stays true to its brief—fashion first, circuitry second—it could mark the moment luxury glasses stopped merely framing the face and started parsing the world right in front of it.
