Meta has opened a pop-up shop in Los Angles dedicated to its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Called the Meta Lab, the experiential store concept first debuted at Meta’s Connect conference for developers in late September; now the Melrose Ave. LA pop-up is bringing the experience to the public through Dec. 31, 2024.
The LA store is part of a three-part test-and-learn strategy for the retail concept, which began with the Connect pop-up and continues with the limited time LA store. The third phase will be a more permanent shop-in-shop set to open at the end of January in Phoenix. Details were not provided on which third-party retailer will play host to the shop-in-shop, but given the tech company’s new long-term partnership with Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica, it’s a fair bet that it will be one of that conglomerate’s retail banners, which include Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters.
“By the end of January, we will have tested all three expressions of our experiential first-party retail,” said Meta Lab Creative Director Matt Jacobson in a blog post.
The entrance to the LA Meta Lab features a façade with a larger-than-life pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, complete with the frames’ trademark LED light. Inside, visitors are greeted by an AI wall, one of the most popular features among visitors to the Connect pop-up, which allows visitors to test out the Meta Ray-Ban’s smart AI assistant.
Advertisement
“The really good news about that is that the AI wall is really easily replicable,” said Jacobson. “The whole thesis here is testing and learning so that we can share with EssilorLuxottica for their 17,000 stores as well as our third-party partners.”
LA Meta Lab Draws Inspiration from California Culture
The LA store’s California culture theme will be expressed across two phases. The first celebrates Southern California lowrider culture and the work of photographer Estevan Oriol, model maker Armando Flores, artist Jacqueline Valenzuela, designer RC Patina Guy and filmmaker Danny Hidalgo. Visitors also will have the opportunity to have their glasses cases, from any brand, customized while they shop, a nod to the tattoos endemic in lowrider culture.
The second phase, which will kick off in early December, highlights DIY style with a nod to LA’s upcycling, thrifting and vintage culture. Featured artists will include Tierra Whack and creators Joe Ando, Wisdom Kaye and Frankie Gaw.
“When you offer true experiences in retail, we can make magical things happen, and the LA store is such a beautiful space,” said Jacobson. “This is some of the most beautiful millwork I’ve ever seen. There’s an immersion experience room where you can go with your friends and capture yourself in this AI-generated version of the beach at Malibu, with 17-foot bespoke-built fiberglass palm trees. It’s nuts.”
In addition to showcasing the Ray-Ban Meta glasses themselves, the store will feature regular programming with guests from the community, including stand-up comedy with Desi Banks, a live podcast with Madeline Argy, a paint-and-sip night with Tinashe, a Ray-Ban Meta-focused workshop with Director Drex Lee and a cooking class with Cassie Yeung.
“I want people to come away from Meta Lab feeling like, ‘Wow, these guys are serious about this,’” said Jacobson. “We can’t scale a hundred of these, but we can build a few of them at locations around the country, and then fill in if we decide we want to do more first-party retail. This is aspirational, inspirational. They’re not easily scalable in terms of what they look like, but in terms of experience, they are.”
