Only 78 yuan, this could be the first Gucci item for young people

This article is from iFanr, authored by Wu Zhiqi.

Following virtual idols, virtual clothing, and virtual artworks, virtual sneakers have also arrived.

Recently, the luxury brand Gucci launched their first digital virtual sneakers: Gucci Virtual 25.

However, unlike the recently popular NFT digital artworks, these shoes cannot be resold and can only be worn in the online world. But it might be the cheapest pair of shoes Gucci has ever made, priced at only 78 yuan. What makes Gucci's first virtual shoes special?
These shoes were designed by Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele, in collaboration with the AR marketing company Wanna.Fashion.

They come in only one neon colorway, primarily fluorescent green, complemented by pink and sky blue, reportedly inspired by the aesthetics of the 1980s, which Gucci has always favored. The tongue and sole feature Gucci's iconic logo.

The shoelaces adopt a retractable design, eliminating the hassle of tying shoelaces in the virtual world. Many platforms have already allowed users to try on shoes online using AR technology, and on the Wanna.Fashion platform, there are also virtual experiences for products from several sports brands like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.
But Gucci's shoes are the first virtual shoes that require payment to experience. This means you can only wear them if you buy them. This also prevents consumers from taking screenshots while trying them on and pretending to own these virtual shoes—virtual experiences also come with a cost.

After purchasing, you can wear them to take photos or record short videos, and then share them. After all, online sharing is one of the biggest attractions of virtual products for contemporary young people.
Compared to previous virtual products, Gucci's shoes have a broader range of use scenarios on the internet. They can be used not only in the Gucci app but also in the VR social platform VR Chat and the gaming platform Roblox, just like a "skin" in a game.

If you just want to experience what it's like to wear Gucci virtual shoes, that's also possible. The Gucci app has also created a virtual interactive sneaker area called "Gucci Sneaker Garage," where multiple virtual shoes can be tried on, including the Screener series, Tennis 1977 series, Rhyton series, and more.
Gucci has also turned this into a small virtual interactive community.

You can also choose your favorite Gucci elements, colors, parts, etc., to customize your own exclusive Gucci sneakers, and then upload them to the virtual "Gucci Shoe Library."
Many artists have already participated, such as Helen Kirkum, Michael Cutini, Mattias Gollin, etc., who use the original shoes as a base for various imaginative designs and then conduct a DIY design proposal voting.

However, this is just to enhance everyone's participation; these "original design shoes" cannot be purchased. The purchasable Gucci Virtual 25, with the slogan "Making fashion accessible to everyone through digitalization," has also faced some consumer complaints.
Fashion magazine W directly criticized: Essentially, isn't this just adding a layer of filter? But even if Gucci's shoes are just a "filter," they still require money to buy…

Luxury Brands Are Starting to "Play" with Virtual Fashion

This is not Gucci's first foray into virtual fashion. As early as the year before last, Gucci collaborated with Snapchat to launch a limited edition of smart sunglasses, Spectacles 3, which can capture 3D videos.
In the field of virtual shoe trials, Gucci has also been at the forefront, being the first brand to launch filters for Snapchat AR.

Images from: Stylus
Since last year, Gucci's investment in virtual digital products and projects has become more diversified. At the end of 2020, Gucci directly released a new perfume, Profumo di Fiori, through AR technology. Interestingly, people could "smell" the fragrance through an online virtual experience game.
Although it doesn't actually smell, when the song "Fade Into You" plays softly, and players wander through a lush ancient castle, finding the perfume and picking it up, corresponding rose petals fall, making it seem like they really have the scent of the perfume.

The culmination of Gucci's virtual products is still in the Gucci app. Here, by opening the camera, you can try on Gucci shoes, watches, glasses, hats, masks, lipsticks, and even home decor items.
To further develop virtual experiences, they partnered with the virtual avatar technology company Genies last year, allowing people to create their own virtual fashion avatars and dress them up. On the gaming platform Roblox, you can also purchase over 50 clothing and accessory items from Gucci.

Images from: WWD
As Gucci's virtual products thrive, major luxury brands have not lagged behind, and it can even be said that they are almost keeping pace.
As early as 2011, when many people had no concept of VR and AR, Burberry spent millions of dollars to hold a 3D holographic fashion show, where apart from six real models, the rest were "dummies."

At that time, virtual fashion was just igniting. In 2016, VR reached its peak year, but soon fell into mediocrity. The real resurgence of virtual reality was driven by the pandemic.
During the pandemic, many offline events were canceled, so Prada transformed the venue of the 2020 early spring women's fashion show into a VR scene, allowing everyone to watch the show online. This also made luxury brand shows more "accessible," allowing fans or passersby to explore the grandeur of large shows online.

Images from: The Editors Club
Hermès, Chanel, and Balenciaga participated in the fashion summit during Paris Fashion Week last year, using virtual reality meetings to present, allowing people to buy tickets and participate online. Dior even made a big move by opening a virtual beauty specialty store.
When users enter the store, the general process is like this—walking from the La Colle Noire castle in southern France into the store, then browsing different products in different locations, and if they like something, they can view its information and videos in 360°, and place an order directly if they want to buy.

To enhance brand appeal, Dior launched AR sunglasses and "3Dior Makeup" AR filters on Instagram the year before last, creating a novel effect of shimmering sequins floating on users' faces, which went viral on Instagram.

Charles Bianchi, an independent consultant in Dior's digital and retail sectors, stated in a recent interview that the pandemic is accelerating the experience and development of online stores, and Dior may even use holograms and dedicated customer service in virtual stores in the future, making digital shopping more immersive. Indeed, under the pressure of the pandemic over the past year, luxury giants, except for Hermès, have almost "fallen," with brands like LV, Gucci, and Dior entering a winter period.
LVMH, the parent company of LV, saw a 17% decline in revenue in the 2020 fiscal year to 44.65 billion euros, while Kering, the parent company of Gucci, experienced a 17.5% drop in sales to 13.1 billion euros in the 2020 fiscal year, making virtual fashion a major battleground for them.

However, the pandemic will eventually come to an end, while virtual fashion will continue to thrive.

The Younger Generation Will Make Virtual Fashion More Popular

Luxury giants leading fashion trends will naturally not miss out on new virtual trends. Therefore, they began taking action even before the pandemic, which only accelerated their development of new virtual products and sales scenarios. What these luxury brands are truly targeting is the wallets of the new generation of consumers.
Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2009) is undoubtedly the digital natives, spending over 50% of their time online, with virtual socializing and entertainment becoming their mainstream hobbies.

Images from: Luxury Highlights
However, many of them still cannot afford actual luxury goods, but that does not stop them from following new trends on internet social platforms.
Previously, the computer-generated influencer Lil Miquela became a sensation on the internet, amassing 3.04 million followers on Instagram. She participated in campaigns for Chanel and Burberry, appeared at the star-studded Milan Fashion Week, and engaged in various social issues, becoming a new idol for Generation Z.

Images from: Daily Mail
Virtual idols are just one part of the emerging virtual world; gaming is currently the largest area of focus in the virtual market. To capture the young market and future market, luxury brands have been making significant moves on gaming platforms.
In 2019, LV attempted collaborations with games like Final Fantasy and League of Legends, breaking down the barriers between fashion and esports. They developed custom skins and virtual LV trophies in League of Legends, which were humorously dubbed the "first luxury items" in young people's games.

In January of this year, Gucci also collaborated with Pokémon GO and outdoor brand The North Face, allowing virtual characters in the game to wear Gucci T-shirts, hats, and backpacks, sparking a wave of virtual fashion.

Of course, there are also free ways to play. When Animal Crossing became popular last year, players replicated those luxury products from LV, Gucci, Burberry, etc., that they couldn't afford in real life, turning into the most dazzling trendsetters in the game and among their friends. When you experience the "aura" that fashion brings in the virtual world, you will also yearn for them more in reality.
For major fashion brands, consumers interacting with their products in the virtual world creates a deeper emotional connection with the brand. Through digital transformation, these brands will refresh their brand image among the younger generation of consumers and gain more attention and traffic.

Sergey Arkhangelskiy, CEO of the AR marketing platform Wanna, recently stated in an interview that a significant portion of fashion brands' revenue in the next five to ten years will come from digital products.

In 2019, the world's first virtual clothing was sold for a high price of $9,500 at the New York Ethereal Summit blockchain auction, where users submitted photos, and the Fabricant platform digitally "dressed" the buyer in it.

A pair of virtual shoes that were once photoshopped onto Elon Musk's feet was also bid up to $40,000.

Images from: rtfktstudios
The recent popularity of NFTs further reflects the high demand for digital collectibles. Many artists, musicians, and even Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey have digitized their works and sold them at high prices, with a 10-second video selling for $6.6 million.
NFTs represent digital assets that are unique, immutable, and non-reproducible. With the development of virtual technology, virtual products will also receive increasing protection from copyright and other forms, just like real products.

10-second video work "Crossroad"
Virtual life becoming an essential part of real life is an inevitable trend. At that time, virtual products will be more than just a "filter" or a "skin."

French thinker and director Guy Debord once said in The Society of the Spectacle: Our era favors images over reality, replicas over originals, representation over reality, and prefers appearance to existence.

When this book was published in 1967, it criticized the consumerism of capitalist society, and now, the virtual world will make the new "society of the spectacle" even more intense and crazy. But the difference is that the virtual will also be grounded, unique, and genuinely existent.