Walk into Patek Philippe, shake hands with a sales assistant, browse through exclusive catalogs, and experience buying a watch worth tens of thousands of euros. But this time not as a customer: as a spectator. This is the phenomenon of so-called “POV Shopping Videos,” content shot in first-person with smart glasses and gone viral on TikTok and Instagram, which are creating new tensions in the luxury world.
According to BOF reports, one of the most discussed cases is that of creator Sami Varelli, who last fall posted a video recorded through his Meta Ray-Ban glasses inside a Patek Philippe boutique. The images show the entire experience from the customer’s point of view: entering the store, talking with the staff, and viewing the available models. However, when the employees notice they are being filmed, they ask the creator to remove the glasses or leave the store.
The video shows no heated confrontation; rather, it ends with a cordial handshake. Yet it has surpassed 50 million views in just a few months, fueling thousands of comments about the staff’s behavior. Many users accused the employees of judgmental and elitist attitudes, turning an ordinary incident into a global media case.
Between GoPro and hidden cameras, smart glasses are ushering in a new category of social content: immersive experiences that allow users an inside look at the ultra-exclusive world of luxury shopping. “My videos allow people to live the life of dreams through my eyes,” said creator Rafal Krolak, known online by the nickname norejectionguy.
For luxury brands, however, this trend represents tricky ground. In recent months, hundreds of similar videos have gone viral. In one, a creator walks into Gucci asking why prices are “so low.” In another, an influencer with smart glasses asks to see the most expensive item available at Loro Piana. Situations designed to generate spontaneous reactions that often end up exposing brands to negative comments and online controversy. The phenomenon is growing along with the success of smart glasses. After years of a slow start, Meta would sell about 7 million pairs in 2025, tripling the numbers of the previous two years combined. The spread of these devices is making it increasingly easy to record content unobtrusively, much more so than a traditional smartphone. Although the glasses show an LED light during recording, many users have already found ways to turn it off.
According to branding experts, the success of these videos depends primarily on their apparent authenticity. In a landscape dominated by glossy, highly produced content, POV conveys a feeling of real, immediate access. “Meta glasses eliminate the distance between living an experience and filming it,” explained marketing expert Jo Wong. “Audiences sense this spontaneity.”
For some brands, this exposure can even reinforce the brand’s exclusive appeal. “If people try to sneak cameras into your stores, it means your brand still possesses an aura of mystery that many others can only dream of,” Wong notes. But the reputational risk remains high. Customer service experiences, especially in luxury, can easily be interpreted as cold, snobbish or discriminatory when they end up online without context. And what starts out as simple viral content can quickly turn into a public relations problem.
Many boutiques already have policies prohibiting videotaping, especially in large shopping districts such as SoHo in New York City. Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Gucci, for example, enforce restrictions on in-store recording. However, there are often no specific protocols dedicated to smart glasses. In the United States, moreover, filming people in public spaces without consent is generally legal, unless they are in environments where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as dressing rooms or restricted areas. According to industry specialists, simply banning filming may not be enough. Indeed, attempting to block creators risks generating even more embarrassing situations, which then become part of the viral content itself.
The most effective solution, experts explain, may be another: better train staff. Recognize smart glasses, maintain a diplomatic attitude and always act as if a camera is on. For contemporary luxury, the real challenge is no longer to avoid being filmed, but to learn to live with a public that observes everything, in real time.
[đź“· IPA]
