Chanel turns to tech, Condé Nast's AI investment, and Zepeto bets big on Emily in Paris: Web3 drops

As the tech wearables race heats up, Chanel has joined the running. Earlier this week, the brand unveiled its latest project – a watch-slash-earphone hybrid that combines the craft of timepiece-making with innovation. With more luxury players wanting a piece of the tech wearables pie, who’s balancing style and utility best? In other news, Condé Nast has struck a deal with ChatGPT owner, OpenAI. Announced last Tuesday, the mass media giant will allow ChatGPT and its search engine SearchGPT to display content from Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ and other well-known publications. What does the partnership spell for the future of journalism and publishing? We dissect below. Chanel’s new watch doubles up as a tech wearable What happened: Chanel has unveiled a new timepiece with integrated headphones, equipped with a microphone and remote control. Wearers can connect their smartphones to the watch to take calls, listen to music, and control audio and video playback. Coined the Première Sound, the design is inspired by the original Première Édition Originale watch, which was first introduced in 1987. The new model features a wired headphones feature alongside its watch face, and is worn as a necklace. The watch made its debut in a campaign video featuring ambassador Lily-Rose Depp. The verdict: Luxury brands have long tried to put the high-fashion stamp on tech wearables over the years, such as Hermes’ tie-up with Apple. While some have failed at cracking the conundrum of style-meets-service, others seem to be moving closer to perfecting the formula – Meta’s collaboration with Ray-Ban on its smart glasses, for instance, has hit a sweet spot among tech enthusiasts and layman consumers thanks to its investment in influencer marketing. In Chanel’s case, it isn’t the first time the brand has leaned into technology. For its SS17 show, Karl Lagerfeld immersed guests in a tech-heavy data center, complete with robots clad in Chanel’s tweed suits. The maison has also been fleshing out its virtual reality capabilities; over the past twelve months, the brand has been designing digital garments for the Le Bal de Paris multisensory VR experience. Condé Nast inks deal with OpenAI What happened: OpenAI on August 20 announced a partnership with Condé Nast to showcase content from its publications, including Vogue, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Wired, and Bon Appétit, through AI tools such as ChatGPT and the SearchGPT prototype. The launch of the SearchGPT prototype aims to provide a faster and more intuitive search experience, combining conversational models with web information to deliver quick, timely answers with clear source links. OpenAI also plans to integrate these features into ChatGPT to enhance user experience. The verdict: The deal marks the beginning of a more significant role for AI in news discovery and distribution. After falling under intense scrutiny earlier this year, following mass layoffs and union strikes, all eyes are on Condé Nast’s strategic investments and partnerships; this new alliance highlights how, rather than pushing back on new innovations, industry giants can adapt to the changing landscape of content consumption. That said, AI’s growing influence in journalism has sparked concerns over whether human writing will become obsolete as the tech becomes more sophisticated. Condé Nast and OpenAI’s deal demonstrates how the two can work in conjunction, rather than in competition. Zepeto taps Netflix hit Emily in Paris What happened: Netflix’s Emily in Paris dropped the first part of its fourth season last week on the streaming channel, and the series featured an unexpected crossover. Zepeto, the South Korean gaming platform made a surprise appearance in the program, marking a new era of advertising and partnerships for gaming titles. While the details behind Emily in Paris and Zepeto’s partnership haven’t been disclosed, it’s likely the collaboration will crop up again during the latter part of the series, set to hit Netflix on September 12. The verdict: While the partnership may seem like an unexpected alliance on the surface, it makes perfect sense. The series’ target audience of younger, tech-savvy viewers proficient in social media aligns with Zepeto’s user base, which consists largely of teenage females and early twenty-something netizens. Zepeto may be a household name in China and South Korea, but it faces major competition in the West (i.e. Roblox). Tapping a chart-topping franchise like Emily in Paris, which was streamed in 58 million households in 2020 and crowned the streaming service’s most-watched show in 2022, is set to dramatically boost the platform’s global awareness.

Chanel has launched a new tech wearable. Will luxury consumers bite?

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Chanel has launched a new tech wearable. Will luxury consumers bite?