Luxury fashion house Gucci debuted its new creative director Sabato de Sarno, on Friday in concurrent fashion shows that took place in the real world and across digital platforms.
Titled “Ancora,” the first runway show under De Sarno’s creative leadership took place on a Milan runway as well as across three virtual platforms: Roblox, South Korea’s Zepeto, and China’s QQ.
According to Vogue Business, the virtual shows allowed Gucci to recreate an immersive experience modeled after the streets of Milan. In Roblox, the platform offered users the opportunity to earn limited-edition rewards by playing three mini-games within the virtual neighborhood. According to the platform, over 47.1 million users visited the digital installation.
Gucci has been working on its Roblox destination for years, opening its Gucci Town in May 2022 and launching its virtual Gucci Garden experience, which marked the brand’s 100th anniversary.
“While fashion and art may feel out of reach, the metaverse is bringing them closer and making them more accessible for millions of people, building on Gucci’s quest to empower individuals and expanding self-expression to new virtual territories,” the brand said in a blog at the time.
Gucci has been vocal about its interest in digital spaces and has been building out its metaverse strategy. In March 2022, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri told Vogue Business that the metaverse was “already a very real place for us” and that the brand is not afraid to be a “first mover” when it comes to digital trends.
In recent years, other luxury brands, like Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Balenciaga, have embraced digital worlds as a vehicle for showing off their high-end fashion offerings.
