Gucci's New Metaverse Project Invites You to Play in The Sandbox
Gucci wants you to come play in the sandbox — literally.
Expanding its roster of digital initiatives, the Italian house is partnering with The Sandbox, a game and metaverse world where players can buy, develop, and sell virtual real estate. Details on the collaboration remain largely under wraps, though a press release hints at what to expect.
"Gucci and The Sandbox will collaborate to create an interactive fashion experience based on Vault, Gucci’s conceptual space and meeting place inspired by childhood memories of the search for beauty," the announcement reads.
The "fashion experience" in question? "Select metaverse fashion items created by Gucci designers will be available for players and creators to buy, own, and use in their own crafted experiences using The Sandbox’s free VoxEdit and Game Maker creation tools," the release explains.
In short: Gucci has acquired a plot of land on The Sandbox and will work with the game to develop an in-game retail experience mirroring the Vault e-store (which, interestingly, just launched a dedicated Instagram).
Since its inception, Vault has acted as an umbrella for Gucci's more experimental, Gen Z-minded projects — most recently, its NFT drop with SUPERPLASTIC.
Earlier in February, the luxury label partnered with the multimedia company to birth SUPERGUCCI, a series of NFTs that members of Gucci's Vault Discord server got first dibs on.
The house's early adoption of digital trends sets it apart from other luxury competitors.
Last year, it became one of the first high fashion brands to mint and sell an NFT. Around the same time, Vogue's Business Index found that Gucci is Gen Z's most-recognized brand, an achievement that most likely has something to do with creative director Alessandro Michele's willingness to experiment with innovations that others — such as LVMH's Bernard Arnault — find risky.
In fact, Gucci's embrace of digital culture dates back much further than the advent of NFTs and the metaverse. Back in 2017, the house launched #TFWGucci, an advertising campaign comprised entirely of custom memes.
While Arnault's tasteful pooh-pooh of the metaverse is understandable (especially from a non-Gen-Z'ers point of view), Gucci's plunge into the digital medium seems to beckon: come on in, the water's fine!
