In a world where sunglasses are often all (sometimes literally) the same, Gentle Monster has broken through the ho-hum of it all thanks to sheering marketing prowess that yields seriously impressive social media chatter. It's not so crazy to posit that Gentle Monster might be the biggest luxury eyewear brand in the world, at least going off its organic buzz.
Through its collabs, clever campaigns, and canny celeb cosigns, Gentle Monster has become a textbook case in how to leverage viral marketing on a major level, in turn becoming a go-to single-product maker.
In this case, that product is slick eyewear, worn by the likes of the Kardashians, Timothee Chalamet, and BLACKPINK’s Jennie, a frequent fan and friend. And, also, likely every person you know.
As part of its latest Jennie partnership, Gentle Monster is opening up pop-up shops or “Jentle Salons,” in New York and Los Angeles featuring eight of Jennie's “favorite” eyewear models and a handful of charms and accessories for each of them.
Knowing how unique the brand’s in-store experiences usually are — they are both eyewear stores and art galleries at the same time — Jennie’s themed pop-ups will likely be all over Instagram. But when isn’t Gentle Monster in our feeds these days?
And that’s kind of the point.
Are we into Gentle Monster's glasses or its PR? Who cares? They're basically the same.
Every time Gentle Monster swings, it hits. It collaborated with the likes of Jennie, yes, but also dished a huge and immediately sold-out collection with Maison Margiela and indie accessorizer D'heygere.
Even Gentle Monster's inline offerings are a smash.
For instance, its Jelly Collection made its rounds on TikTok weeks before it launched in January thanks to Gentle Monster-crazed influencers, causing it to sell out before you could decide which candy-colored pair you wanted.
And even Gentle Monster's recent seasonal campaign, modeled by nude alien humanoids, is so starkly fascinating that it dares the viewer to not stop scrolling.
The big PR swings work, of course, because the product is solid. Or at least because the brand is beloved enough that the aura of its celeb admirers and quirky brand presentation lure in Gentle Monster fans.
Because in a world of cookie-cutter luxury sunglasses, there's only one Gentle Monster.
