The Italian luxury brand is joining the digital fashion movement. It’s a strategy for luxury fashion to constantly innovate and participate in the digital world where people are spending their time now more than ever.
After creating athletic wear for a tennis game, virtual looks for online avatars, and releasing digital versions of its latest collection for a fashion video game, Gucci is launching a platform allowing their audience to design their own sneakers and try them on using AR technology. The soon-to-be-launched Sneaker Garage is the first time that the brand is creating digital products that have no physical counterpart.
I know what you're thinking: who would buy virtual Gucci sneakers?
The answer is : so many people!
The virtual world today is building its own economy, and investing in digital goods holds great value because of their own scarcity. Not only can you purchase exclusive luxury fashion pieces in one of their most artistic forms, but they can also be shared or sold for a higher value to collectors.
With a sense of always keeping its position at the forefront of trends, Gucci is now designing pieces with a clear vision of having them both on the runway and the metaverse. It is well known by now that the virtual and the fashion world are colliding. Gucci isn’t the only luxury brand to look in the virtual direction, Louis Vuitton launched an ’80s-style game inspired by the 2019 fall-winter collection, Hermes created a horseshoe throwing game to celebrate the brand’s equestrian roots and Estée Lauder, meanwhile, just launched four video games promoting their skincare products.
Gucci’s virtual sneakers are a big step in the digital fashion direction. Users will be able to explore their creative side by creating the sneakers for free, then have the possibility to share images on social media. This new wave of virtual clothing raises the question about what fashion is and its potential. High fashion was never limited to physical garments, it has always been about the storytelling, the aspiration, the creativity, and the work put into it.
The virtual world of fashion brings endless possibilities to the future of luxury fashion and is not only environmentally conscious, but It’s also creating a stronger bond between people and the brand.