Luxottica and Google announced last week a partnership for the design, development and distribution of spectacles for Google Glass that will involve the popular Ray-Ban and Oakley brands, using also Luxottica's retail and wholesale distribution channels once Glass will become more widely available.
Google Glass is still in a beta testing phase, mostly in the U.S. According to the latest information, its revolutionary wearable technology may be made publicly available there in the second half of this year, and later on perhaps in Europe and other parts of the world.
Luxottica said it will establish a team of experts with Google to work on the design, development, tooling and engineering of “Glass products that straddle the line between high-fashion, lifestyle and innovative technology.” The company noted that Oakley has already ten years of experience in wearable technologies, working with MP3s and head-up display devices.
Google indicated in its own statement about the collaboration with Luxottica that it will bring more Glass style choices to its beta-test “explorers.” Google added that the two teams are focused for the moment on the U.S. market “and have nothing to announce beyond that.”
Andrea Guerra, chief executive of Luxottica, stated that its strategic partnership with Google is the ideal platform for developing a new way forward in our industry and answering the evolving needs of consumers on a global scale.” He said in his statement that “we have come to a point where we now have both a technology push and a consumer pull for wearable technology products and applications.”
For Google, the announcement of its partnership with Luxottica follows the announced of a Titanium collection of frames, designed in-house, that was made available in January. We could not determine who is manufacturing it. Claudio Gottardi, president and chief executive of Marchon, declined to comment on the matter at a press conference during the Mido eyewear show in Milan where he appeared wearing a Google Glass shield above his eyes.
For Oakley, the announcement comes along with the launch this month of a new global “Disruptive by Design” campaign developed through four23, a creative studio in London, and other partners. It is being supported by Wired, the American multi-media information service on new trends and ideas.
