Kylie Jenner’s Meta Glasses: a sneak peak into fashion’s latest direction
In the words of Oscar Wilde: ‘There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.’ In her latest product endorsement, Kylie Jenner reworks this sentiment by telling us there is only one thing worse than being on camera, and that is not being on camera at all.
Meet the first and only AI glasses voiced by Kylie Jenner. The Meta Starfire (Kylie edition) is the newest and possibly the most jarring incorporation of artificial intelligence into daily life yet. According to meta.com, ‘Meta Glasses let you capture hands-free photos and video, take phone calls, listen to music and interact with Meta AI using just your voice.’
The ingenuity of the glasses solves a problem that does not exist. Meta is attempting to convince us that presently using a cell phone is too much of an inconvenience. The navigation of applications, the adjustment of volume controls and the timed decision to press record are too conscious and too deliberate of an act. The more that corporations can relieve user action, the more time consumers can spend mindlessly scrolling, consuming, and becoming influenced. Meta is attempting to erode your agency, to stunt your ability to make alternative decisions- decisions which do not involve the use of their products. It is difficult to partake in anything else when Zuckerberg has essentially removed the screen from the palm of your hand and perched it on the bridge of your nose. You can never forget your device when it becomes an item you routinely adorn, like your everyday jewellery which you would eventually feel naked without, something that would function quite literally as a lens in which to view the world.
Billboard advertising Kylie Jenner’s partnership with AI-enabled smart glasses.
It could be argued that because of this, inconvenience has the potential to be a healing process. Delayed gratification, conscious effort and painstaking processes are good for both the mind and the soul. The implementation of which places a mental guard between you and Silicon Valley strategists investing in the cognitive decline that accompanies technologies which spoon-feed you. Meta is already capitalising on the idea that consumers will value convenience more than the innately human experience of hardship and pay-off.
Jenner was an unsurprising candidate for this collaboration as the success of her career was founded off the back of ‘reality’ television and unblinking cameras. Keeping up with the Kardashians as a piece of media, is an extraordinary archive of surveillance which is so relentless and so normalised that even Truman himself would blush. The only difference here is that Carey’s rendition rejects the intrusional aspect of close observation, whilst the Kardashian’s profit by embracing it. This is evident in the latest promotional advertisement by Kylie Jenner where the audience watches the celebrity readily embody the camera herself and forfeit her personal autonomy for content.
In an idealistic vision of Jenner’s morning routine, the viewer gains all-instrusive-access to the celebrity’s first-person perspective. We watch as Kylie addresses her staff, receives flowers, blends her own breakfast smoothie and she does so perfectly. From the satisfactory swiftness of her movements to the polished pitch of her voice-over, Jenner promotes the idea that by capturing your daily standard, you too can play perfection for clout. In doing so, perhaps your whole life could be altered and edited to be aesthetic and photogenic- is that not what we all strive for anyways?
A world under watch, one which incites good behaviour could only be a net positive. However, philosophy would tell us otherwise. The panopticon was a conceptual prison design created by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. It involved a centralised watch tower which was then surrounded by back-lit individual cells, a grid almost shaped like a honeycomb. The architectural layout forced inmates to self-regulate because at any given moment they could be viewed under surveillance. The Meta Starfire establishes asimilar digital confinement. The transformation of existence into one long film roll demands perfect performance and sets an impossible expectation of unnatural behaviour.
The premium price point of the glasses might lead you to believe that the product is far from being embedded in everyday technologies. However, in 2025 alone, Meta has sold seven million pairs of these accessories with Mark Zuckerberg stating, ‘They're some of the fastest-growing consumer electronics in history.’ Privacy laws surrounding the use of these obtrusive devices must be called into question. As it stands the only protections offered to the documented are listed in the safety guidelines of the Meta website. The company asks users to ‘respect people's privacy’ and ‘be good community members’. However, a breach of these tips and recommendations is in no way legally binding.
I would encourage readers to continue open dialogue about the startling advancements made by A.I companies and to reject notions of technological determinism. Be slow to arm yourself with weaponised digital accessories in fear of pandering to the cyborg aesthetic yourself.
