Dive Brief:
- Through an agreement with Authentic Brands Group, Innovative Eyewear entered a global licensing agreement to develop the Nautica Smart Eyewear collection, according to a Dec. 11 press release.
- The line features eight initial sunglass styles and Bluetooth compatibility for each. Two of the styles offer a blue-light blocking lens for indoors.
- The line is expected to ship in 2024 and will launch at Nautica’s various optical store partners in January. The sunglasses will be available on the company’s website, according to Innovative Eyewear CEO, Harrison Gross.
Dive Insight:
All frames from the Nautica Smart Eyewear Collection can accept prescription lenses.
Users can listen to up to 12 hours of music in one charge of the smart sunglasses. Additionally, the sunglasses come with patent-pending auto-adjusting hinges and branded accessories such as a power brick, cleaning cloth and a slipcase with the Nautica sail logo.
"Smart eyewear was once firmly in the remit of early adopters and tech enthusiasts alone. We are changing that forever by producing smart eyewear that is not only a functional Bluetooth accessory, but a fun and trendy fashion statement," Gross said. "Combining our technology with the popular and storied Nautica brand is sure to delight consumers worldwide, and further advance our mission to make the future of eyewear smart.”
As Authentic Brand Group continues to expand its portfolio and product offerings, Nautica’s parent company acquired footwear brand Rockport out of bankruptcy in July. In April, Vince Holding Corp. struck a deal to sell its Vince brand intellectual property to Authentic Brands Group.
This isn’t a brand’s first attempt at smart eyewear. In recent years, companies have developed various smart eyewear pieces and collections.
In 2017, Amazon first announced it would develop smart glasses with the Alexa voice assistant. Years later, the company is still trying to push smart eyewear and announced a collection in collaboration with Safilo Group. In September, the two introduced the Carrera Smart Glasses with Alexa.
Meta started selling smart glasses at its first retail store in April last year. Around the same time, the company debuted more color combinations for its Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses.
