Could Meta be preparing to launch a Prada version of its Meta AI glasses? That’s the speculation after Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla, were spotted sitting in the front row of Prada’s Fall/Winter 2026 Fashion Week show in Milan on Thursday. The social media exec was seen chatting with his seatmate, Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s chief merchandising officer and son of head designer Miuccia Prada.
While Zuckerberg has been working to polish his image in recent years, including with upgraded threads, it’s likely that he wasn’t at Prada for the fashion, but rather because of an upcoming collaboration with the brand.
CNBC reported last summer that Prada AI glasses were in the works, among others. However, Meta has yet to publicly announce such a deal. (The company has not yet responded to a request for comment about Zuckerberg’s presence in Milan.)
EssilorLuxottica, the French-Italian eyewear brand and Ray-Ban maker, has been working with Meta on these high-tech devices since their debut, initially under the Ray-Ban Stories brand. This month, the company announced it sold over 7 million AI glasses in 2025, up from 2 million in the prior year. Those sales included both Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses, the latter designed more for the athletic types.
Now, it seems, Prada AI glasses could be next, given that Prada and EssilorLuxottica already renewed their licensing deal for eyewear under the Prada and Miu Miu brands for the next ten years. (The existing agreement, which expired on December 31, 2025, was later extended through December 31, 2030, with the provision for renewal until December 31, 2035.)
Prada AI glasses could give Meta a foothold in the high-fashion market, a niche that its Oakleys and Ray-Bans don’t yet fill. Establishing the glasses as a luxury symbol could also benefit Meta’s brand overall.
However, there are some concerns that AI glasses aren’t the right fit for a world that’s seeing an increased consumer backlash against surveillance devices, which have recently led people to rip out their Ring doorbells and smash Flock cameras. This shift could see Meta reconsidering whether it will add facial-recognition features to its glasses, as The New York Times recently reported. The news drew criticism for what had otherwise been a modestly successful tech product and has even prompted one developer to build an app that will warn you if someone is wearing the AI glasses near you.
Techcrunch event
Boston, MA
|
June 9, 2026
