Joaquin Phoenix walks into a strange hotel. The lights turn red. Figures appear. And his glasses let him talk to them.

That’s the teaser. It’s weird, it’s beautiful, and it’s the most honest ad for AI glasses we’ve ever seen. Gentle Monster just cast Joaquin Phoenix as the face of its first Intelligent Eyewear collection, and the campaign film is directed by Jonathan Glazer, the mind behind The Zone of Interest and Under the Skin. This is not a tech ad. This is a short film that happens to sell glasses.

Here’s the thing about smart glasses: most brands sell them like a gadget. “Look at the specs. Look at the chip.” Boring. Gentle Monster did the opposite. It made the glasses feel like a fashion object first and a tech product second. Phoenix wears a tan raincoat, black frames, a loosened tie. The hotel is dim and red. The mystery is real. You don’t feel like you’re watching a product demo. You feel like you’re inside a movie. That’s the Gentle Monster way. The brand has always treated eyewear as a cultural statement, not a utility. Now it’s doing the same with AI.

Strip away the film and here’s what you’re actually getting. The glasses are powered by Google Gemini AI. You talk to them, and they answer in your ear. They do real-time translation, so you can speak to someone in another language and hear the translation live. They give you navigation without pulling out your phone. Point the built-in camera at something and ask about it. Capture photos and video hands-free from your own point of view. Long text message? It reads the gist to you. They work with both Android and iPhone. There’s no screen in the lens. No display. It’s all voice and sound, which is a smart design choice for fashion because you still look like you’re wearing regular glasses. Battery life is up to 9 hours per charge, and the case gives you 7 more full charges. The chip is Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1, and the lightest frame weighs around 41 grams, which is lighter than most sunglasses.

This isn’t just one brand. It’s a three-way deal. Gentle Monster handles design and fashion direction. Samsung builds the hardware and platform. Google provides Android XR and Gemini AI. Google even took a 4% stake in Gentle Monster in June 2025, around $100 million. This is a serious, long-term bet, not a one-off collab. Warby Parker is also part of the same program with its own frame designs, but Gentle Monster is the fashion-forward face of the launch.

Pre-orders open November 12. A public preview happens in New York from November 13 to 23. The full collection launches in December 2026. The complete campaign film drops mid-November. You can register for the New York preview on Gentle Monster’s website. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet.