Gucci premieres Milan Fashion Week in the metaverse
Gucci has welcomed its new creative director by reenacting its Milan Fashion Week runway show across three virtual platforms.
On Sept. 22, Italian fashion house Gucci had its first runway show under new creative director Sabato de Sarno both in the real world and on three major digital platforms: Zepeto, Roblox, and QQ.
The collection, named “Ancora” — Italian for an encore — was initially slated to take place near Milan’s prestigious fine arts university, Accademia di Brera. Still, bad weather forced organizers to move the show indoors.
Nonetheless, its virtual versions kept the original concept and allowed global access and engagement free from weather constraints.
On the Roblox platform, Gucci’s permanent experience underwent a facelift to mimic the physical location of the show in the Brera district. The fashion house also made three mini-games available to visitors to the virtual show, allowing them to win limited edition rewards.
Similarly, the Zepeto platform live-streamed Gucci’s runway show and accommodated elements from Brera and the show in its Gucci Ancora space. Users could also purchase items from the physical show for their avatars from a virtual Gucci store.
On its part, the Chinese social platform QQ hosted a screening for its Gucci community to join in on the action.
In recent years, the high-end luxury brand has made inroads into crypto, NFTs, and the metaverse. It had partnered with Roblox since 2021, when it released a digital version of its iconic Dionysus handbag on the metaverse gaming platform. Initially selling for $6 per piece, the non-fungible token (NFT) accessories saw their prices rise to as high as $4,000, surpassing even the cost of their physical counterparts.
In May 2022, the company announced it would start accepting crypto payments in at least five U.S.-based stores, aiming to expand the service to all 111 outlets in the U.S. and Canada.
Likewise, in March 2023, Gucci partnered with Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creators Yuga Labs following its launch of the Gucci Vault Metaverse on another gaming platform, the Sandbox.
