Kylie Jenner’s questionable partnership

Summary

Style-ish Podcast: Kylie Jenner’s Questionable Partnership

Podcast: Style-ish by Shameless Media
Episode: Kylie Jenner’s questionable partnership
Air Date: July 2, 2026
Hosts: Madison Sullivan Thorpe (Maddie) & Naima Fatima

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Overview

In this episode, hosts Madison and Naima dive deep into Kylie Jenner's high-profile collaboration with Meta for the Starfire smart glasses. They examine not only the campaign itself—from the creative direction of the ad to the tech features of the glasses—but also the broader strategy behind choosing Kylie Jenner, her current place in the cultural zeitgeist, and persistent questions about both smart eyewear’s future and women-targeted consumer technology. Much of the conversation also dwells on concerns of privacy, cultural cachet, and marketing tactics in the tech and fashion crossover space.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Launch: Product and Price

• Meta’s New Smart Glasses—Starfire: Kylie Jenner has teamed up with Meta to launch Starfire, plus two other sunglass styles: Fury and Adventurer. (04:00)
• Price Point Shock: The glasses retail at $629 AUD, more costly than some designer sunglasses. By contrast, Snapchat’s just-launched glasses cost a whopping $2,200 AUD. (04:23, 06:45)

Features of the Glasses

• Tech Specs: AI assistant (voiced by Kylie herself), built-in camera (photo/video), speaker, phone call capabilities. (05:50)
• Comparison: Described as “an iPhone that you just put on your face.” (06:31)

Marketing and Ad Review

• Disjointed Launch Ad: "It kind of felt like three ads brought into one...it honestly looked more like the intro of a Coachella set..." (09:20 – Maddie)
• Hosts’ Reaction: Described as “stitched together, a bit hodgepodge.” (10:54 – Naima)
• Memorable Moment: The ad features voice lines like, "Hey, Meta, take a pic. Hey, Meta, turn it up. Hey, Meta, translate this.” (09:55)
• Marketing Intent: Focus on fashion-first, tech-second, aiming to shift Meta’s smart glasses away from “tech bro” and toward mainstream and fashion audiences. (18:40)

Why Kylie Jenner?

• Reach: “She’s got 382 million Instagram followers. Not just a small little quantity.” (11:50 – Naima)
• Engagement Questions: While her engagement is high, the hosts wonder how much of it is true “community.”
• Breadth of Brands: The duo runs through Kylie's ever-expanding brand empire—Kylie Cosmetics, Kai, Sprinter and recalls the “graveyard” of failed ventures like Kylie Baby, Kylie Swim, and Glow Bear Beverages. (12:12–13:04)
• Business Churn: Praised for “fail fast, fail forward” approach, quickly joining/detaching from ventures. (15:06)
• Cultural vs. Product Influence: Maddie posits, “Her currency is social currency, not product conversion…the value she brings is media value.” (16:39, 28:26)
• Notable Quote: “Do I think someone will subconsciously think it’s okay to have a drunk cig because Kylie Jenner said it? Yes. Do I think that Kylie wearing a gloss is going to make you go out and buy the gloss? No.” (17:05 – Maddie)
• Recent Resurgence: Increased relevance due to her relationship with Timothée Chalamet, “the return of 2016” nostalgia, and a rekindled friendship with Jordyn Woods. (17:49)

Gendered Marketing in Tech

• Tech and Women: Meta’s pivot from “Ray-Ban tech bro” messaging to targeting women. (22:22)
• Big Tech Trend: Quote from Dr. Sarah Suska: “Big Tech knows new technologies rarely go mainstream until women adopt them. That’s why products that feel unfamiliar or invasive get repackaged through beauty, fashion and wellness.” (23:58)
• Product Design: Starfire includes makeup-friendly nose pads and a compact mirror in the case—features never standard in sunglasses before. (25:31)
• Hosts’ Skepticism: “Do women actually care about smart glasses?” Naima’s immediate response: “No, that’s just a gut reaction, sorry.” (23:19)

Influencer & Creator Strategy

• Not Just Kylie: Beyond Kylie, Meta tapped micro-influencers and fashion tastemakers, like Victoria Paris (“her drops sell out within a second”), Ava Black, Coco Schiffer, and Tyrell Hampton, to provide “social permission” and target fashion-forward consumers. (29:16-30:00)
• Creator Funnel: “Kylie’s job was to make you aware of it. These adjacent creators…funnel down into that conversion consideration stage.” (30:35 – Maddie)

Privacy, Surveillance, and Backlash

• Social Risks: Media and privacy experts warn of increased non-consensual filming, highlighting women’s safety in public spaces with men wielding camera glasses. (32:22–32:57)
• Facial Recognition Concerns: “Meta have reportedly tested a feature that could match a face or a photograph to a person…there is this element of real danger.” (32:57–33:53)
• Data and Trust: Meta’s privacy issues are a recurring concern: “Meta is not a company that I associate with protecting my privacy...Meta have in recent times paid $7 billion in…fines for privacy breaches.” (36:56 – Maddie)
• Comparison to Existing Tech: While iPhones used in public draw attention, these sunglasses allow more surreptitious recording—removing consent and awareness from bystanders. (35:02)

The Future of Smart Glasses

• Skeptical Adoption: Both hosts agree—this isn’t a product they (or most women they know) are rushing to buy. (26:28)
• Yet, Room for Growth: Citing industry predictions, “Wearable eyewear…will be a $30 billion USD category by 2030.” (26:53)
• Parallel with Apple Watch/Oura Ring: Luxury and “fem” designs have driven wearables to mainstream female consumers before. (27:04)

Where Smart Glasses Could Make Sense

• Event Use: Maddie suggests weddings or brand events (with consent) could be fun applications. Naima adds concerts. (38:22)
• Current Contradiction: “We’re all trying to be on our phones less. It’s like, you guys want to be on your phone less? Here’s some glasses instead.” (39:40 – Naima)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It honestly looked more like the intro of a Coachella set.” (09:20 – Maddie on the launch ad)
• “Her currency is social currency, not product conversion.” (16:39 – Maddie)
• “Do I think that Kylie wearing a gloss is going to make you go out and buy the gloss? No.” (17:11 – Maddie)
• “I think her role is to be social currency... the value she brings is media value.” (28:26 – Maddie)
• “Meta is not a company that I associate with protecting my privacy. In fact, I see them as a stark contrast to that.” (36:56 – Maddie)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [04:00] – Starfire smart glasses features and price
• [09:20] – Dissection of the Kylie Jenner x Meta launch ad
• [11:39 - 14:51] – Kylie's influence, follower engagement, and “brand graveyard”
• [16:39–17:11] – Kylie's real value: social cachet vs conversion
• [22:22–26:15] – Gendered marketing in wearable tech and design tweaks
• [29:16–30:52] – Influencer campaign funnel strategy
• [32:22–36:46] – Privacy, surveillance, facial recognition, and potential risks
• [37:06–38:22] – Meta’s data reputation and hosts’ reflections on usage ideas

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Tone & Flow Highlights

Light, cheeky, and conversational throughout, with moments of earnest skepticism and cultural analysis. Both hosts interplay humor (e.g., “My friend Tim—Timothée Chalamet!”), fashion insider awareness, and a thoughtful approach to contemporary tech culture.

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Conclusion

This episode of Style-ish offers a rich, sharp, and critical lens on what Meta and Kylie Jenner’s partnership signifies—not just for marketing, but for the evolving intersection of fashion, technology, and social life. The hosts leave the door open for future mainstream adoption, but remain dubious about smart glasses’ immediate appeal, particularly for women. No matter the sales numbers, they agree: right now, it’s Kylie’s relevance in culture—rather than commerce—that Meta is truly buying.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. This episode of Stylish is brought to you by Prime Video's addictive new series, Elle, based on Elle Wood's bougie teenage life in 90s Bel Air before she became that Harvard law student. Watch it now, exclusively on Prime Video. Hello. Happy Friday. This is Stylish, the podcast for all things fashion, brand beauty and lifestyle. But. But because it is a Friday, it's the episode where we get to focus on brand campaign. Those. How did they get their career stories? One of my personal favorite corners of Stylish. And I'm very excited because I am your host, Madison Sullivan Thorpe. And I am joined by Naima Fatima. Naima. Hi.

[B]

Hi. How are you?

[A]

I'm great. How are you?

[B]

I'm good. I was just saying to Maddie that every time I come in here, I've got a random hair accessory on that I then have to take off in the just before recording because it doesn't fit with the headphones.

[A]

Today was a. The other week was a headband.

[B]

Yeah. And they really make the outfit.

[A]

I love the cap. It was. Is that a shameless media cap?

[B]

No, it wasn't.

[A]

Next time. Maybe that's why it didn't work.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

It was like the cap wouldn't allow it. Yeah, well, you know, you've come in without a hair accessory. I've come on with like mascara and a touch of blush because I had a facial feeling a little overexposed. So I'm hoping that people are listening in audio, not watching via Instagram.

[B]

You look great.

[A]

What are we talking about today?

[B]

Today we are talking about Kylie Jenner and the meta glasses.

[A]

There is so much to unpack in that. But before we do, it is your turn to do word of the week.

[B]

Yes, it is word of the week. And I've got one word. So proud of myself. My word is quizzes.

[A]

Quiz master.

[B]

No, just quizzes. Just quizzes. No. I have been trying to nail down a Saturday morning routine at the moment, one where I don't instantly get up and scroll and, you know, just like, resetting my nervous system from the week. I would say I think I've nailed it down. So it's a wake up, make a coffee, make breakfast and do this run of quizzes.

[A]

Great.

[B]

So I'm obsessed with doing a quiz. I've gotten, like my entire friendship group onto them. You'll often see us if we're at a pub on a Friday night, we're doing the weekly 50. On my 30th birthday, I made every single person do the quiz with Me, I just love doing them. I think it's such a fun group activity. But I wanted to share with everyone my run of the perfect quizzes for a Saturday morning. So you start with the weekly 50. You do the Saturday quiz time, which is 25 questions. They also have a who am I? Which is really fun. So you have to guess who the person is with clues, and then you go into the good weekend quiz, which is the one that I'm the worst at because that's a little bit more history and, you know, less pop culture based.

[A]

Let's just say you're like, I know where I thrive.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

So it's almost like you go from best or easiest to hardest.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I start with high scores and then by the end, I don't care as much anymore.

[A]

I've tasted victory. I'm good.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I've done good in one of them.

[A]

I love that. I also love that you do it with your friends on the Friday at the pub.

[B]

Yeah, it's so fun. That looks like one drink in perfect amount.

[A]

Perfect amount of courage.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Perfect amount of curry to say it with conviction.

[B]

Yeah, I'm like that meme with, like, all the things spinning around. I'm like, I've unlocked a part of my brain. I know these things.

[A]

Is there a drink count where we must not do the quiz after?

[B]

Yeah. Three drinks is not an ideal place to be doing that anymore.

[A]

No one's getting a high score.

[B]

No. But it's still fun.

[A]

We love fun and we love a quiz.

[B]

Yeah. But I hope everyone tries it out this weekend.

[A]

Do you think that you'll, like, graduate from quiz into trivia?

[B]

I love trivia, but I like that I can do this in my own home, you know, There it is. Or at the pub.

[A]

Scrambled eggs.

[B]

Yeah, exactly.

[A]

All right, well, let's get into what we're talking about. And as you mentioned, we are talking all things Kylie Jenner and Meta. And we're chatting about it because last week the news broke that Kylie Jenner has teamed up with Meta to launch the newest smart glasses called Starfire, alongside two other sets of sunglass styles, the Fury and the Adventurer. Yeah, these kind of sound like, I don't know, superheroes that, like, say.

[B]

I was like. I was thinking wwe, Right. Wrestlers, you know. Oh, yes, sorry, you're the expert.

[A]

Well, no, I was ufc. You know, they're like cousins. They're not siblings.

[B]

They are actually retailing for 629 AUD,

[A]

which I want to stop there and earmark that because when we're talking $629 aud for a pair of sunglasses. Like it's cheaper to go and buy a pair of like designer sunglasses from like Saint Laurent or Prada would offer a pair of sunglasses cheaper than that.

[B]

I agree. And also I would say sunglasses are the most like lost item in my wardrobe. I always lose a pair of sunglasses. I'd be pretty annoyed if I lost a $629 pair of sunglasses.

[A]

1000%.

[B]

Kylie and Mehta teamed up with Esloxotica to design these glasses. She said, you know, pretty vocally that she's had quite an active part in designing the look and feel of these. This isn't the first time they've partnered as well. Eslok Sarka actually own Ray Ban. So the first kind of iteration that we saw was also through them.

[A]

Yes. And I feel like if you don't know, this is not the first time Metta had a sunglass. Yes. So when you're saying they teamed up with Ray Ban. Yes. They had a collaboration and it's not the first time they've used a celebrity. But we kind of want to dissect in this episode why we think they've tapped Kylie Jenner of all people on the shoulder and really dissect whether we think Kylie has influence and pull over a female demographic.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And there's kind of. That's the first part. And the second part is like smart glasses as a total category. I think wearable technology is not a new concept to any of us. It kind of feels like we've been growing up with it and we've kind of watched it boom. The last few years.

[B]

I have also seen smart glasses all over my feed. I also saw a collaboration between Korean giants Gentle Monster and Google. So not the first one I've seen recently, but definitely one that's made the biggest splash, I think, on social. Before we kind of go into it, I think we should answer what are the kind of the features of these glasses that Kylie has designed? They've got an array of AI features. They've got a built in camera that can take photos and record. They also let you take calls. There's a speaker on them and you can interact with an AI assistant, which is actually voiced by Kylie Jenner.

[A]

I mean, it sounds more like an iPhone that you just put on your face.

[B]

Yeah, literally. But you've got a new Siri. Really?

[A]

We've had Meta's rival Snapchat also launch smart glasses in the last month.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And price tag, a lot more eye watering $2,200. A pair of sunglasses also lent on a whole host of celebrity names. NBA player Jimmy Butler, model Kaia Gerber. We had rapper Jack Harlow, I. Yeah, you know the term rapper loose. And look, as you can imagine with a $2,200 price point, shareholders were not exactly thrilled with the launch. So Snapchat's share price plummeted 10% on the day of the announcement.

[B]

That's rough.

[A]

I would not want to be a shareholder of Snapchat that day.

[B]

No.

[A]

We're going to get into all of these and dissect Kylie and the launch. But that will be right after a word from today's sponsor. There are some fictional characters who stay with us long after the movie has ended, and Elle woods is absolutely one of them. Even though Legally blonde was released 25 years ago, her character is still one of the most iconic to grace our screenshot. Whether you were around for the original movie or not, I'm going to guess you're familiar with Elle, her story and obviously her wardrobe. So you're going to love this news. Prime Video has just released a prequel TV series that explores Elle Wood's teenage years before she became that Harvard Law student. This time we meet her as a 16 year old living her best life in Bel air in the 90s with a wardrobe full of glossy pink outfits and her future as a popular cheer captain. All planned out. But then in true coming of age drama fashion, everything changes when her family moves to Seattle after a reputation crushing social disaster. Q Grunge culture, rainy weather and plenty of teen angst. If Prime Video knows one thing, it's how to deliver a series that becomes a full cultural obsession. Elle definitely belongs on your list. Watch Elle now exclusively on Prime Video. And thank you so much to Prime Video for for making this episode of Stylish possible to announce the launch and the debut of the glasses and collaboration with Kylie as the face of this particular style. They shared an ad to social media. And by they, I mean meta. Now look, any video with Kylie Jenner is going to garner attention, but I did have to have a little bit of a giggle at this ad because it kind of felt like three ads brought into one. At the start. It felt very much King Kylie era. We had Kylie out in the desert with this big billboard. It opens with these spray painting hands. It honestly looked more like the intro of like a Coachella set of like, you know, when all the billboards are out in the desert. And then we kind of cut to like this footage of Kylie in a Very luxe, Home opening, mail, playing with her cat. It's kind of as discombobulated as it sounds. And then in between each of these scenes is kind of these very AI looking pink backdrop of these glasses kind of hovering in the sphere. And to be honest, it kind of looked like one of those ads that, like, when your aunt gets hacked, you know, Saying Ray bans $89 and, you know, she's lost her Instagram login. Yeah, it was like all three of those brought together.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We've got a little snippet of the ad that we're going to play for you now, so you can listen to snippets of it.

[B]

Hey, Matta, take a p. Hey, Meta, turn it up. Oh, so cute. Hey, Meta, translate this. Yeah, I'm not sure how much you got from that visually, but we'll link it in our show notes so you can go have a look. This wasn't obviously the only piece of content that went out. There was quite a lot that dropped over the period of like, a week. I agree with you. I found the ad quite stitched together, a bit hodgepodge. I'm sure it cost millions of dollars, but it did feel a bit like we've filmed multiple things and then we've attached them together, I think. Before we go into the glasses themselves, I want to ask you, Maddie, why Kylie?

[A]

Look, it's an interesting question, and I guess it raises a lot of deeper questions because I think obviously this is a product that is trying to target the demographic of young females. And even when we were, you know, having our editorial meeting on this, we were discussing a lot of, is it Gen Z? Is it millennial? Look, I think it's a bit of column A, column B. I think the reality is Kylie is in her late 20s. She's very much in the cultural zeitgeist right now and has been for some time, thanks to the family that she is a part of. And I think, you know, the question is not why Kylie? Because Kylie is, you know, I think the fifth or sixth most followed person on Instagram. So there's like, yes, we know why they've picked Kylie based on the following. I think the question is, like, does Kylie influence us to buy these glasses?

[B]

I think it's a good question to ask. I've kind of gone back and forth on this. If we look at, you know, what her influence is at the moment, she's got 382 million Instagram followers, not just

[A]

a small little quantity.

[B]

Yep. Nothing to laugh at, but I think in that for me is like, how much of that is also an engaged community. If you look through her Instagram, the engagement rate is really high. But I would say that she has attached herself to multiple businesses, ones that she's, you know, created and built herself and also other businesses.

[A]

Totally. And I think when people think Kylie Jenner, what comes to top of mind will ultimately be Kylie Cosmetics, her most successful brand, without a doubt. But also at the moment, she has the brand Kai and the brand Sprinter, which is an alcoholic beverage drink that's now gone into electrolytes as well. But there kind of is. And I don't want to sound, you know, really snarky in this, but there is a graveyard of brands that have been before that. There was Kylie Baby, which was a baby's sort of bath care, skin care line. There was Kylie Swim, which, I mean, pretty self explanatory that, no, she was not building outdoor pools, she was in fact doing swimwear. And she was also a stakeholder in a vitamin water brand called Glow Bear Beverages.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it's not the first time we've seen Kylie attach her name to something. In fact, we've seen Kylie quite literally put her name on a product and brand rather than just being the face of it.

[B]

Yeah. And she's covered a lot of different categories in those as well. Two of those at the moment are actually going through a rebrand. You mentioned Sprinter, which I think is the strangest rebrand of all time to me.

[A]

Sorry.

[B]

Going from an alcoholic beverage to a skincare glow drink.

[A]

It would literally be the equivalent of like Barry's or a quarter leg going. We're actually about electrolytes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Forget everything. It's not even living alongside. It's not like, take this after you've drank us. It's like. Like this is like cruises going into Boost Juice. Yeah.

[B]

Like, literally that's what it feels like. She's also going through a bit of a rebrand, to my understanding, for her clothing brand Kai. They've recently taken on a new CEO who is the ex CEO of Garni.

[A]

Yes. And she's also ex deputy chief executive of Balenciaga. So, I mean, pretty great stable of brands to have come from. But bringing on a new CEO definitely signals refreshed redirection.

[B]

These are all pretty recent stories as well. So there's a lot going on in the business land of Kylie.

[A]

Yeah. And I think, like, as I said up top, Kylie Cosmetics is probably the first brand you think of when you think Kylie Jenner. And, you know, we cannot deny the success of that brand and that sale for her. So Kylie sold a controlling stake of the business, Kylie Cosmetics, to Coty in 2019 for a cool $600 million. So I think it's safe to say this is not an unsuccessful businesswoman, despite the fact that I did mention a graveyard. The reality is, I'm sure the losses on those have been far outweighed by the sale of Kylie Cosmetics. But Kody's share price is also really struggling at the moment. And Kody also invested in Kim Kardashian's line of beauty alongside Kylie's. And I think sentiment in the market is that Kylie Cosmetics is not the unicorn darling it once was in the beauty world.

[B]

That is something. I do think that this is such a side bar, but I do think the Kardashians do very well is letting go of a product and like just moving on to another one. Of like, they have so many brands but they're so willing to like give it a go and then go on to another one.

[A]

Totally. And I think, you know, they fail fast and they fail forward. Like they're happy to attach really quickly and detach just as quickly. I guess it raises a question though, because, you know, at the start of this episode, you asked, what influence does Kylie have and who are we trying to influence with this? The million dollar question to come back to is like, you know, is she influential if these brands can't work?

[B]

Yeah. And is she influential if she has attached herself to so many?

[A]

Yeah. And it's funny because if we go inside the Kardashian Jenner, you know, monstrosity that it is.

[B]

Yeah. Kris Jenner's bio, the list.

[A]

Do you know what? Devil works hard, Kris Jenner works harder. But if we go into that and we look at Kim, Kim kind of created the blueprint, I guess in early noughties, tens of attaching her name to everything. This is a woman who was attached to Skechers waist trainers, detox tees, apps, Kimoji, you name it, and then launch skims, which now sits at an over billion dollar valuation. And I think, you know, has made a really beautiful transition to attaching herself or detaching herself, shall I say, to a lot of what she previously did and is really single minded in going after this. Like, it is worth mentioning how much Kylie is reported to have gained from this deal because it's reported to be 25 to 30 million USD.

[B]

It's not anything to laugh at, is it? It's like it's so much money, it's so Much money.

[A]

And so for me, I think, you know, Kylie's relevance is not so much in product but in culture.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So for me, I think about the episode that she did with Jake Shane on Therapist and the conversation around smoking and cigarettes and kind of getting wasted with her friends and talking about the Birkin. I think her currency is social currency, not product conversion. That's kind of where I came to when I was really critically evaluating it. Do I think that someone will subconsciously think it's okay to have a drunk signal because Kylie Jenner said it?

[B]

Yes, Yes, I agree with you, but

[A]

I don't think that Kylie wearing a gloss is going to make you go out and buy the gloss.

[B]

Yeah. I agree with the cultural currency thing. If you asked me this question a year ago, I would have said she doesn't have much. This run up with Tim, Tim, my friend Tim, this run up that we've seen with Timothy and Marty supreme, the NYX photos that we see, they're like, I've just seen a lot more of her on my feed and she. I think she does have the most cultural relevance out of all of the Kardashian Jenners, in my opinion.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And sorry to, you know, bring up Kylie's relevance in terms of a man. I do feel bad about that, but I do think that is one of the main reasons I've been seeing her back in my zeitgeist.

[A]

Yeah. And it extends beyond just, you know, Tim, as you call him, your bestie Tim. It is, you know, the fact that 2026 is being dubbed the return of 2016, of which she was, you know, the girl of the hour and, you know, rekindled friendship with Jordan Woods. I think there is a triage of reasons that Kylie is back in the zeitgeist.

[B]

I understand what meta are doing trying to attach themselves to Kylie. Before this. I think they had Mark Zuckerberg, like model these glasses. You know what I mean? Do you know what? I have no shame in saying this on Mike. He's not the coolest man in the world, especially not from a fashion sense. And I don't think he has the best reputation, especially if we want to move these glasses away from, I think what the, like, Ray Ban narrative around it was, which was like very like tech bro.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think he just does not have the pizzazz to sell that into a fashion space. Even though he was front row at

[A]

Prada this year, I don't think even Prada could save him.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I mean, it makes sense that they did Plant that. And it's like, it's so clear the direction they're trying to go in, you know, fashion. I watched a video with him around the launch and he said, you know, fashion first, technology second. You need to integrate the technology into something that is a good pair of glasses first. So it's so clear that what they're trying to use Kylie for here is more of that cultural moment and maybe like acceptance around it.

[A]

Totally. And I think at the end of the day, you know, these are sunglasses that kind of look like, you know, a modeled down Celine or a Chavok or a lovely. Like these kind of sunglasses that you would buy on asos or the iconic. Like they're very much in vogue. I wouldn't be shocked if I saw someone wearing them. Unbeknownst to me, obviously, the technology integrated behind them.

[B]

I think that's a good point, actually. Like, I wouldn't really pick up on them on a street. They're such a common shape of glasses.

[A]

Totally. And if we contrast this with the pair of tech glasses that Snapchat launched, the Snapchat glasses, I would be going, that is a very interesting, rather bulky frame, like the sides of the. Yeah, Clockable. I like that.

[B]

Yeah. There is a part of me as well, I wonder, you know, in the room where they've got. I'm imagining photos up of all the people they wanted to collaborate with. I do wonder if there's a bit of a middle ground where maybe Kylie isn't the first person you think of from like a fashion point of view. But I don't know how many celebrities necessarily want to attach their name to this either.

[A]

Yeah, I think meta's probably a name that you would be wanting a really high price for if you were going to get into bed with them. I think where Kylie kind of came in though, is that she is someone who loves taking pictures and documenting her life. Like, even if we go back to, you know, the King Highley era, 2016s very much, she was big on Snapchat. She's always kind of been probably the Kardashian Jenner that has shared the most kind of unfiltered, like, yeah, you know, if we were going to play like most likely to. She is most likely to be drunk with her phone out.

[B]

Yeah. Like, well, she grew up in that era 1000%.

[A]

So I think this feels like the grown up extension of that behavior.

[B]

And also back in the day, I don't know if you remember the brand key. The sun.

[A]

Yes. Key Sunglasses. Yes.

[B]

And I remember how viral they went because Kylie Jenner was wearing them. So I guess you could throw it back to that. But I do think that point you made around, you know, she is the most likely to film is interesting because she's also the person who's lived her life under, like, surveillance the most. Like, she's grown up being filmed.

[A]

Totally. I think she was like 9 or 10 when the show started. This is a child who has lived her life in the spotlight and under immense scrutiny. I think, you know, there's probably a power in her owning the camera rather than being the one behind it. And look, there's so much to unpack. Cause we do want to get into kind of the tech side of it rather than just focusing on Kylie and the ramifications around all of it because it is so multidimensional. But Nymar, we were sort of saying when we were chatting about this episode, like, what celebrity could you imagine attaching themselves to this product or range that would resonate with the same audience that we think Meta are trying to target with Kylie?

[B]

I think Alex Earle. I think Alex Earle is like what Kylie was 10 years ago, like in that zeitgeist in Not. Sorry, not even in the zeitgeist in my phone. Because Kylie was on Snapchat like 24 7. I could watch everything about her. Whereas I think Alex Earl is that version for 20 year olds now.

[A]

I completely agree.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

We're gonna get into why we think the tech industry are targeting women. But that will be right after a word from today's sponsor. 25 years after legally Blonde hit our movie screenshots, changing fashion culture forever. Prime Video have just released elle, the prequel TV series based on Elle Wood's bougie teenage life in 90s Bel Air. We may or may not have squealed in the shameless office when we heard this news. In the series, Elle is on her way to be a popular cheer captain when her family moves to grungy Seattle, where her collection of bubblegum pink looks don't exactly fit in. This is made for a girl's weekend in Catch Elle, exclusively on Prime Video. And thank you so much to Prime Video for making this episode as stylish possible. So I guess the key difference in the launch of Meta's Starfire versus their previous launch with Ray Ban is that they're very clearly going after women. Do you think that women actually care about smart glasses?

[B]

No, that's just a gut reaction. Sorry. Like, I don't know who is buying this.

[A]

I don't think we care yet.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's kind of where I land. You know, 10 years ago, no one cared about monitoring sleep or having a health score of it or was worried about like, you know, what their resting heart rate was during like an intense meeting or that their body hadn't gone through extreme heat and ice. Like, you know, you know, I'm like, maybe this is just the early phase.

[B]

Yeah, I feel like such a Luddite. Like, like, I don't think I want this. But I'm sure people also felt that about Tick Tock.

[A]

Yes. And there was a really interesting social post that our senior podcast producer Kate came across that came from Dr. Sarah Suska, who's a socio technologist and she wrote on Instagram. Big Tech knows new technologies rarely go mainstream until women adopt them. That's why products that feel unfamiliar or invasive get repackaged through beauty, fashion and wellness.

[B]

Yeah, well, I mean, they've essentially marketed the problems that we were having that women were very specifically having with the Ray Ban version or other smart glasses, which is, you know, being filmed in public. Or it was a lot of like pickup artist content that exists on TikTok and they've kind of repackaged that and

[A]

sold it back to us 1,000%. And I mean, the irony is we've said beauty, fashion and wellness. Kylie has a beauty brand, a fashion brand, and now a wellness brand. You know, I mean, I don't think sitting on Jake Shane talking about how a security always carries cigarettes so she can have a drunk sig should the moment spur really screams wellness. But she has a wellness brand. Like, you know, I don't think it's a surprise that they've kind of gone after someone who we think beauty. I mean, I think of a lip liner and I still think of Kylie Jenner to this day. And I mean, ironically, none of my lip liners are Kylie lip liners. Yeah, I just think of the cultural phenomenon that was like the 2016ish era of like, has she, hasn't she, you know?

[B]

Well, I didn't know. I don't think I knew what a lip liner was before that. Do you know what I mean? I wasn't wearing a lip liner. I was just smacking Mac Ruby move straight onto my lips without a lip liner.

[A]

Lip liners were something that like our aunts and grandmothers used to stop their lipstick, which without the creepiness was not an us issue. I do think there are design choices about these sunglasses that are very beauty adjacent. So they've put a little pad on the sunglasses so that it doesn't ruin your makeup. They've also put a little mirror compact within the case, which I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever bought a pair of sunglasses that have a mirror case within them. And they've used a lot of kind of beauty languaging. And I think, you know, even the ad as, you know, hodgepodge and, you know, discombobulated, as we called it, it does feel like, as I said, like, it reminded me of the intro of Sabrina Carpenter's Coachella set. It reminded me of King Kylie. Like, Kylie Jenner's launch of Kylie cosmetics. Like, I don't think any of those were mistakes.

[B]

No. And, yeah, there's a part in it where she's in her wardrobe, for example. So it is just, like, very purposefully. Everything she was hitting was very. What are women talking about?

[A]

Yeah. And doing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think, like, you know, back to kind of us going, do we think we can ever see ourselves wearing these? I think it's pretty comfy to say right now. It's a no.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

For the two of us personally. But I do think we can't deny where we think this is going to go as a category. And I was reading the business of fashion McKinsey report, and they were saying that by 2030. 30, they're projecting that wearable eyewear, like tech eyewear, will be a $30 billion USD category.

[B]

That's crazy, because I think I read the sales, and it was for the glasses themselves. Last year was 7 million. So that's. We've got a long way to go. Yeah. No, but that is fascinating that they are projecting that growth.

[A]

Yeah. And look, there will be some people who are probably listening to this podcast going, yeah, like, they've tried to firm up the glasses, whatever, like, onto the next. But this isn't the first time this has happened. And I really want to, like, reference a couple of these, because I think if we take Apple Watch and Oura Ring as two examples, I want to go with the Apple Watch first. Like, them teaming up with Hermes was very deliberate. One argument is it was to make it a luxury item. Yes. Because someone downgrading from a luxury watch to a tech device needed to bridge that gap by feeling there was an adjacent luxury brand. But Hermes is a largely female clientele. It's a beautiful leather watch. It was a strap that had quite a femme appearance, if you were to categorize it. And then if you look at Oura rings, it's not just black, it's Available in silver, rose, gold, gold. Like you can kind of pick your poison and then all these adjacent, you know, categories that have come out after it of like these, you know, tiny little fine diamond or diamante bands that you can wear to fem it up. Like, we've seen wearable devices move into these fashion adjacent categories for some time now. This isn't the first that we're seeing of it.

[B]

It seems like the trajectory is like they market to the tech, bro. They start with like a very basic version of it and then they realize that the buying power is with women. And then they bring in these like other brands or people to legitimize and kind of normalize it in that sphere.

[A]

Yeah. And look, it's funny, when we were talking about like, do we think Kylie converts and do we think Kylie has power? I don't think it is necessarily her role from this to sell, you know, to take those sales from $7 million to $700 million. I'm sure they would love it if she did both of those things. But I think her role is to be social currency. And at the end of the day, I saw a lot more of this on my Instagram feed, on the subscription platforms that I sign up to that dissect brand and business and campaign. I think the value she brings is media value. And when I say that it's articles, it's videos, it's clicks, it's everything that you engage with in content consciously or subconsciously.

[B]

Yeah. I think what they then did is had that like fashion tastemaker lens with their influencer rollout.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, I think if you had like a diagram, it's like Kylie had that like sparkly mass reach awareness piece. Whereas these, the creators that they kind of worked with, they all sit around like outside of Victoria Paris, kind of sit around the 200k mark. But they're all people with like very distinct fashion taste or even like a very artistic taste. So they had, you know, Ava Black, Victoria Paris. Victoria Paris I think is like on Depop, the fastest selling seller. Like her drops sell out within like a second. So she's got these communities that are like very attached to what she's wearing. Coco Schiffer, who I follow personally as well, and Tyrell Hampton, who's the photographer that hangs out a lot with Kylie and Kendall and photographs those like after parties.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I think what they've done is by taking it away from that like quite male audience and putting it into the hands of what I would think people in the fashion industry that are you know, have very specific points of view. They're kind of trying to give it social permission. So for the audience, they're like, oh, I do follow her and I do like a lot of the stuff she brings to the table. I think they've been really smart in not going for the biggest creators. They've gone with people with reach but have a specific point of view.

[A]

Yeah. It's almost like Kylie's job was to make you aware of it. And then seeing these adjacent creators that maybe you have more in common with or that you resonate with more is suddenly where they're hoping you'll funnel down into that conversion consideration stage is probably more what I want to say, given where it is.

[B]

Yeah. So the whole marketing plan, we've got it.

[A]

Whether I feel like they're middle, then I don't think they're at the bottom of that, that funnel just yet.

[B]

But I do think it's like placing it in like a lot of these ads that I saw with them trying to identify like a vintage item in a store. So it's like they've really intentional. Like I can see what this brief was.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like I can so see what the talking points were. And it's that I find that really interesting.

[A]

Yeah. It's not asking the AI tool to like summarize, you know, a presentation at work.

[B]

Yeah. The elephant in the room is, you know, the backlash that it's really had. And a lot of these big concerns around what does having these glasses out into the mainstream actually mean? A news.com article titled Danger to Women, Kylie Jenner's new Meta Smart Glasses Sparks outrage, explained why so many people feel quite wary about this technology, which I probably my instant reaction of a no up top probably said that a quote that we've got in here from the article. The controversial technology has concerned a number number of women and privacy advocates after a creepy trend emerged following the launch of the first Meta Ray Band AI glasses in 2024. In the past two years, social media has lit up with videos of unsuspecting women being filmed predominantly by men. It continues. The clips show women in a variety of concerning situations such as relaxing on the beach or simply walking down the street and are shared online as part of a viral trend that sees creeps and wannabe pickup artists secretly filming women without their knowledge or consent. Now, with the launch of Meta's first cheaper than ever smart glasses, there are fresh concerns.

[A]

I mean, first of all, just gross. Yeah, like just gross. Like as if we don't have to deal with enough from men being creeps.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Are we going to move to a time that we are just suspecting and suspicious of every male wearing a pair of shades anywhere?

[B]

Yeah. Well, I don't. For me, like we were saying before, it's like they're not super different to what other sunglasses are. So I don't even know if I was, like, walking down the street, I'd be able to clock it.

[A]

Yeah, the Snapchat ones, as you said, but the meta ones, no. And I think there's also, like another layer to this, which is the facial recognition technology that is a part of this story. And according to Dr. Sarah Suska, who we mentioned earlier in the app, Meta have reportedly tested a feature that could match a face or a photograph to a person. And I think, kind of to dissect that just to a point of someone who might romanticize that as going, oh, my God, the cute guy I see at the train station, I might be able to identify. But there is this element of real danger. And, you know, that was kind of my. Where my head went first with this facial recognition piece. And New York Civil Liberties Union, who identify themselves as nyclu, warned this in a letter to Mark Zuckerberg. And it was actually signed by 75 individual US states, alongside organizations that also included domestic violence protection and advocacy for women.

[B]

Yeah. And obviously that's the really severe side of the scale. And it also can just identify people in general. There were two Oxford students who ran an experiment with the Ray Ban versions of these glasses, and they were able to narrow it down to people's addresses and the jobs. So I don't want anyone to know that. I don't want anyone in the street knowing where I live. I saw an example recently where in the UK there's a creator who creates a lot of content with the Ray Ban glass. And they go in, they go, like, shopping, they go to Ikea or like their equipment of a Coles, and then they, like, stream it, like, put up these videos. And the concern there is there might be someone in the background of that that does not want to be identified and that they're being put out to millions of people and that actually places them where they are. So similar to those, like, domestic violence concerns.

[A]

Absolutely. And on the scale that is the most serious severe of the law, I mean, we could also throw in, you know, CIA agents and spies in all of that as well. But there is also somewhere in the middle which is just people don't want their photograph or video being taken without their consent.

[B]

And I Just want to live my life.

[A]

I just want to live my life. And if I want to put something on the Internet, I will do that with my own free will or that I will allow my friends to do that, you know, with my permission. But I do think that there will be a chorus of people that go, well, what is the difference between holding up an iPhone and someone filming an outfit of the day and someone in Paris walking behind in the background? And. But I do think the key difference there is when you see a camera or an iPhone, you can make a pretty quick judgment call as to whether you are being filmed and you can divert behaviour where you're walking, you know, whether your head's turned or down. I don't think you get the same will and judgment because you don't actually know. With these glasses, as we said throughout this entire episode, they're very, you know.

[B]

Well, that's the whole point of it, isn't it? The whole point is that you can film like a first person view of something. So I don't think someone would see this and then go, hey, are you filming me? You know, it's like there's less of a barrier in a world where we're being surveilled a lot more. Like, you know, there's obviously people creating out in public and you might be in the background of that, but there's also things like, I don't know, there's new video cameras in Kohl's. There's the whole ring camera thing, you know, now that wasn't a thing that used to exist and now you can. You get notifications and that's even a trend where you're seeing people do fit checks on ring cameras, which, you know, isn't as deep. But I do think there is a continued theme of probably surveillance and fashion.

[A]

Totally. And at the end of the day, I do like a ring camera. Like, I would like living in a house by myself.

[B]

I agree.

[A]

I like seeing someone who is coming to my door. Also, if you're willing to go past my front gate, I have a right to see who you are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Where I have concerns with this is, is two parts. One, as I said, it's the unbeknownst to you, you're being filmed. The other party is Meta.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To me, Meta is not a company that I associate with protecting my privacy. In fact, I see them as a stark contrast to that. And I don't think that Mark Zuckerberg is a man that I trust with my data.

[B]

Yeah. For me, they're a first and foremost data company, 1000%.

[A]

I think we've seen that play out for many years in the US and he has been, you know, dissected and ridiculed heavily for that. And look, I'll take my personal view out of it and ground this, in fact, but Meta have in recent times paid $7 billion in private settlements and fines for privacy breaches. So that is both my feeling and a fact.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, I agree. And, you know, look at how targeted ads are for us now. I do not believe that there won't be a point where the data that these glasses receive will not be used to, you know, look at consumer behavior at the moment. They're saying we're not going to use the data. That is what they've said with every other thing that they've ever sold. I think that it is going to be used to, you know, sell back to us. Because that is, at the end of the day, one of the main goals

[A]

of Meta, well, it's their largest revenue stream is the ad portfolio. And the way that their ads work now is like a furnace. It's changing rapidly. And I mean, by the day, by the hour, it is increasingly hard and increasingly targeted.

[B]

Yeah. On the post, you can click straight in and buy it 1,000%.

[A]

I mean, yeah, I think this will, whoever chooses to use these will definitely enhance their paid ad capacity. Look, this whole episode, it has felt a little bit like we're needing the glasses. Like, no, no, no, no, no. And I kind of want to have a moment to go, where would you like to see the glasses? Because when I was critically evaluating my own thinking, I was like, there are two places that I would like to see the glasses. And I'm intrigued if you have any others. The first is at weddings. I think these would be really fun. I mean, random for a guest to wear sunglasses all night. You can actually get these in clear. And just to go one step further, you can even put your prescription in them if you want to. This would be a really fun way to get behind the scenes footage without you having to carry the camera. The other is at a brand event.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So if you are hosting a brand and you were doing a big launch event for it, that having someone wear these to kind of take you behind the scenes and feel very much unfiltered, as, you know, you're talking to people or saying hi or kissing people on the cheek and watching what they're doing at the event, again with their consent, would be probably the only two places that I was like, I could see this being fun or a DJ on a set.

[B]

Maybe that was the only one I had at a concert. Yeah, I think, like, pov, seeing the concert and the people around would be fun. Again, with consent.

[A]

I mean, again, these are just all things we can do with an iPhone.

[B]

Yeah, I agree. I think it's funny that it's at a time where we're all trying to be on our phone list. It's like, you guys want to be on a phone less. Here's some glasses instead.

[A]

Go put your phone in the drawer and just wear basically an iPhone on your face.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Look, I think our thoughts, feelings, and emotions are pretty clear on this one. But it has been very fun dissecting.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Not just the product, because I think we could have sat here and spoken just about the launch, but why Kylie and whether this is part of the mainstream, whether this becomes something that we find ourselves wearing, I'm very curious to see. Time will tell, but that is all for this week's episode of Stylish. We will drop into your ears next Wednesday. Feel free to email us at style-ishameless media.com or you can always slide into our DMS. Our lovely social media coordinator, Esther, would love, love to hear from you. As always, a big thank you to the Shameless media team, head of podcast Lucy Hunt, and our senior podcast producer, Kate Emmerburg, for all their work on this episode. We will be back with you next Wednesday.

[B]

Thanks so much. Bye. Bye. This podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri land. Always was, always will be aboriginal land.