Marc Jacobs wants you to get connected. On Wednesday, the designer released his first foray into wearables (and trust us, you will actually want to wear this) with the Riley hybrid smartwatch, that is as innovative as it is cool. Just when you thought you had seen everything smartwatches have to offer, Jacobs’ timepiece offers four different styles in the fashion-forward aesthetic the designer is known for, retailing at $175.
“I find technology hugely important to fashion,” Jacobs tells Refinery29. “But I don’t know how to engage with it as much as I wish I did.” So he did the next best thing and found people who could.
To celebrate the watch, Jacobs tapped David Hughes to photograph the campaign and a few New York-based influencers and professionals to act as his muses: Musician Alexis Jae, Youtuber Amanda Steele, dancer Charisma Glasper, editor and professor Amy Sall, plus, actress Ke’andra Samone to show us just how real people are able to put their smartwatch to work. Steele likes to use her smartwatch to take photos of her makeup looks with the remote camera button, and Jae uses hers to turn up (the volume), literally. The watch also boasts the ability to track your movements, give you your notifications, a find-your-phone ringer, auto updates, a second time zone, and sleep tracking.
Ahead, learn more about how the muses use their Riley hybrid smartwatch.