Global fashion eyewear brand Gentle Monster announced on the 27th that it will begin full-scale collaboration this year with global tech company Google to develop next-generation AI smart glasses.

The global AI smart glasses market is growing rapidly. According to the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), the global AI smart glasses market is expected to expand more than fourfold from an estimated KRW 2700 billion at the end of 2024 to about KRW 11,788.3 billion by 2030. AI smart glasses were highlighted at CES 2026, the world’s largest IT and home appliance exhibition, as the most promising next-generation innovative device after smartphones.

As market competition intensifies, the importance of design is growing alongside technological capabilities. Due to the nature of devices worn on the face, comfort and aesthetics in AI smart glasses are emerging as key factors that determine product competitiveness.

At its developer conference in May last year, Google stressed that AI smart glasses must be lightweight and wearable all day, and that it is important for the design to be stylish and customizable to individual preferences so that users will want to keep wearing them.

Google last year attracted a strategic investment of USD 100 million (approximately KRW 145 billion) in Gentle Monster. A representative of IICOMBINED said, “This investment is highly significant in that a global big tech company has chosen a Korean fashion brand as a core partner in its next-generation wearable device strategy.”

Gentle Monster is expected to collaborate with Google from the early stages of product design for Google’s AI smart glasses. Based on its accumulated design expertise, the brand plans to realize a design that users can wear comfortably for long periods while also functioning fully as a fashion item.

A representative of IICOMBINED stated, “The convergence of tech and fashion is not a temporary trend but a core domain that will continue to expand,” adding, “Please pay attention to the new synergies that will be created as these two companies, leading tech and fashion respectively, work together.”

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