Luxottica & Intel’s Fashion-Tech Hook-Up

Italian eyewear company Luxottica and global computer-chip giant Intel are partnering on the development of a pair of glasses – another lucrative example of the tech market’s desire to boost its fashion credentials.

The open-ended agreement will see specialists from both companies working towards technologies that can be adapted to all of Luxottica’s luxury eyewear brands (which include Chanel, Burberry, and Dolce & Gabbana among others).

While little has been revealed about what consumers can expect, Intel’s vast technological reach, teamed with Luxottica’s luxury expertise, could produce wearables capable of competing with Google Glass. At the announcement, the brand’s chief executive Massimo Vian said the first fruits of the collaboration would drop in 2015. 

Both brands have previously sought interdisciplinary collaborations. Luxottica’s brands Oakley and Ray-Ban manufactured more fashionable frames for Google Glass, while Intel worked with cult US luxury brand Opening Ceremony on the Mica smart bracelet – read more about it in Tech’s Fashionable Tipping Point.

This conversation is testament to the growing connection between the fashion and tech industries, which are committing to a consumer desire for wearables that can put a stamp on the fashion market. The Apple Watch – which goes on sale next year – is a great example of this ideal marriage. Read more about its success with the fashion crowd in Apple Watch: Fashion’s Validation.

For more, see Product Design + Innovation, Tech & Fashion: The War On Talent, and SXSW 2014: Wearables & Fashion.