Gucci is among the fashion companies that played a lot with the concept of virtual reality. A few days ago, the Italian high-end luxury fashion house even announced that it bought land on the Sandbox. However, this was neither the first nor the last move Gucci made in the metaverse. We do not know what exactly would be the company’s next goal would be when it comes to the virtual space but here is what it has achieved up to now:
December 2020 – Launched first items on Roblox
Gucci partnered with two Roblox players, @cSapphireCS and @RookVanguard, who recreated items from the Gucci Gift collection. The branded virtual were available in the Roblox Avatar Marketplace.
May 2021 – Launched a virtual experience on Roblox
Gucci and Roblox collaborated to create the Gucci Garden Archetypes – an immersive virtual experience in Florence, Italy, celebrating the company’s creativity and digital evolution. The Gucci Garden space was opened for everyone on Roblox for two weeks between May 17 and May 31, 2021. Upon entering the Gucci Garden, the avatars of the visitors became gender-neutral, symbolizing that we all start our lives as blank canvases.
During the virtual event, a pair of Gucci diamond-framed sunglasses sold for 120 Robux (about USD 1.40), while a virtual Gucci shoulder purse sold for 475 Robux (about USD 5.50). Some people, however, did end up paying hundreds of thousands of Robux for Gucci digitized products. For instance, a visitor bought a purse, based on the popular Dionysus mini chain bag, for 350,000 Robux, which at that time was worth more than USD 4,100. Just for comparison, the retail price of a Dionysus mini chain bag is currently about USD 2,000 on Farfetch.
September 2021 – Launched the Gucci Vault
Gucci launched Gucci Vault – an experimental online concept store that stocks vintage Gucci items as well as works by emerging designers like Bianca Saunders, Ahluwalia and Collina Strada.
In a tweet, the company said: “Vault is dedicated to reimagining the House’s heritage through new digital realms, alongside a curation of vintage Gucci pieces and noteworthy designers.”
November 2021 – Partnered with Microsoft Xbox
Gucci partnered with Microsoft Xbox – a metaverse pioneer, according to experts in the field. The collaboration involved the launch of 100 sets, each including a custom Xbox Series X console with a GG-pattern laser-engraved, two Xbox wireless controllers in carbon black featuring Gucci’s web stripe in red and blue and a hard case inspired by Gucci’s archival luggage. Who knows, maybe the two companies would also work together in the metaverse!
January 2022 – Launched Gucci Vault Discord
Gucci announced Gucci Vault on Discord with the goal of fostering open conversations with the community about the company’s next steps in the metaverse. Yes, there will be next steps, for sure!
January 2022 – Partnered with Superplastic
Gucci partnered with Superplastic, a leading creator of animated celebs, vinyl toys and digital collectibles. The two companies launched SUPERGUCCI – a three-part series of 500 limited-edition NFTs created by Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director, and synthetic artists Janky and Guggimon. Each of the NFTs incorporates House codes found in the Gucci Aria collection. In addition, it comes with a 8-inch tall handcrafted white ceramic SUPERGUCCI SuperJanky sculpture.
The first drop was made available on February 1, 2022. However, bots exploited the NFTs’ smart contracts. As a result, Superplastic announced that they would switch over to a raffle system on February 3. Additionally, some scam links appeared in SUPERPLASTIC’s Discord, which, however, the company managed to detect early.
February 2022 – Gucci bought band on The Sandbox
On Wednesday (Feb. 9, 2022), the luxury fashion brand Gucci announced that it bought an undisclosed amount of virtual land on The Sandbox. The company plans to create themed experiences as well as to sell virtual clothes and accessories for the players to wear as part of the game.
“For a new generation of players, virtual fashion is as important as real-life fashion,” Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, said in a statement.
Who else is wondering about Gucci’s next move in the metaverse?
