Gentle Monster reveals first look at intelligent eyewear film with Joaquin Phoenix

Gentle Monster has released a teaser for the campaign film for its first intelligent eyewear collection. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and is directed by Jonathan Glazer.

The short film follows a salesman staying in an unfamiliar hotel, where he meets a series of strange characters and increasingly surreal situations. As the line between dream and reality blurs, he finds himself at the end of a red-lit corridor facing mysterious figures. He learns to understand them and communicate with them through the intelligent eyewear.

According to the brand, the campaign looks at the relationship between people and technology. The eyewear’s features come through in the story rather than being demonstrated outright, and the film presents the glasses as a way of forming connections in unexpected moments.

The full film will be released later this month. Pre-orders for the Gentle Monster Intelligent Eyewear Collection open on November 12 via the brand’s website. A public preview follows in New York from November 13 to 23, with registration also online.

Founded in Seoul, Gentle Monster positions itself in what it calls “alternative luxury eyewear”. The brand is known for experimental designs, art-led campaigns and immersive flagship stores. It describes the intelligent eyewear line as a continuation of that approach, bringing together fashion and technology.

The intelligent eyewear market

Gentle Monster is entering a smart glasses market that has grown quickly over the past year and is dominated by Meta. According to IDC, global shipments of smart glasses without displays rose 167 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026, to around 2.25 million units. Meta, which makes its AI glasses with Ray-Ban and Oakley owner EssilorLuxottica, held 69.2 percent of the wider market for smart glasses and headsets. EssilorLuxottica named the partnership as the main driver of its 11 percent sales growth in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg. IDC expects shipments of smart glasses without displays to reach 13.6 million units in 2026.

Big tech has turned to fashion eyewear brands to compete with Meta. Google bought a 4 percent stake in Gentle Monster in June 2025 for around 100 million dollars. The investment was tied to glasses running Google’s AI and Android XR platform, developed with Samsung, with Gentle Monster leading the design.