What Will Google Glass Look Like?

Would you wear Google Glass? The futuristic eyewear has tech fans hot under the collar, but so far everyone seems sceptical that the gadget will cut it as a fashion accessory. New phones, tablets and laptops have to be beautifully designed in order to compete with other tech devices, but surely that’s twice as important for a gadget that people will be wearing on their face? No matter what they might be able to do with Google Glass, the majority of people still want to look good – or at least normal - at the same time.

Right now, the Google Glass prototype looks like a half-frame from a pair of regular glasses, but with a small camera on the right hand side and no lenses. It’s hard not to look a little like Terminator in them, and already Glass’ early adopters are being ridiculed before the product even launches properly - see #glasshole on Twitter, or the White Men Wearing Google Glass blog. And if Google can’t make Glass seem at least a little bit cool then it’s hard to see who’s going to buy it other than die-hard techies with money to burn.

So far their main concession to style has been making the hardware smaller and lighter, and adding a choice of colours (it was originally only available in black, but now you can choose from charcoal, tangerine, shale, cotton and sky). We know, though, that Google are keen to get Glass involved with the fashion world. At Diane von Furstenberg’s SS13 show, both the designer and the models wore Google Glass (special pairs were created in the colours of the collection) to create a behind-the-scenes film, while Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin sat front row.

Now there are rumours circulating that they’ve asked Warby Parker – famous for their vintage-inspired frames and lofty NYC boutique - to step in and work on improving the look of Google Glass. If this is true, the gadget could be transformed from the streamlined, minimalist design we’ve seen so far, to something a bit more like this: 

A Warby Parker style - the Joplin

It seems like a slightly strange partnership, given that Warby Parker are known for their retro designs – their website is currently touting a 1920’s-themed collection – while Glass is incredibly futuristic technology. Will Silicon Valley’s tech fans really be impressed by a vintage look? Or is the future of Google Glass a myriad of different style options that people can choose from? It’s hard to predict how people will react when it finally becomes available everywhere (that’s expected as early as the end of this year) but it’s crucial that Google gets the look right, and leaves their less-than-cool reputation behind.

We’ve looked through Warby Parker’s offerings and chosen the frames that we’d most like to see Google Glass built into – but would you wear them?

Images from www.techradar.com, www.twitter.com, www.styleite.com and www.warbyparker.com