Last week the Tech headlines were dominated by Christie’s auction of a purely digital work with a unique NFT, or Non-Fungible Token. In the last few days instead the attention re-shifted onto fashion with Gucci launching augmented reality (AR) sneakers, a concept that can be more easily translated for people who may not be accustomed with this technology as a photo filter that superimposes a pair of shoes onto the user's feet using AR technology. The designs were made in collaboration with Belarus-based fashion-tech company Wanna, that has so far worked with a wide range of brands and companies, including Reebok and Puma.
This is not the first time Wanna collaborates with Gucci: in the past they created AR sneakers for the Italian brand as models that users could try on in the Gucci app. Quite a few companies from different sectors going from sportswear to beauty, employ this technology to allow consumers to experiment with a product and visualise how it would look prior to purchase.
The good thing about the Virtual 25 Gucci AR sneakers is that they will only set you back $8.99 (on Wanna's app) or $11.99 (on Gucci’s app), which is very affordable compared to the price of real luxury items. At the moment consumers aren’t able to click on the shoes and connect to a link that allows them to buy real-life versions of the same sneakers, but the sneakers can be "worn" in other virtual environments such as multiplayer online game VR Chat, and gaming platform Roblox.
Gucci has been experimenting for a while with digital drops, launching pieces for Roblox, collaborating with the fashion styling game Drest, creating pieces for Sims 4 and avatars on the 3D social media app Zepeto (where you can also interactively explore the Gucci Villa space), and even launching designs on Pokémon Go.
At the beginning of January The North Face x Gucci collection became available on @PokemonGoApp. Users of the game could get items - T-shirts, hats and backpacks – from the collaborative line at over 100 PokéStops around the world (geolocated near retail outlets) or they could redeem them through the code GXSD5CJ556NHG inside the Pokémon GO app. Such products are obviously aimed at Gen Z consumers who may not be able to afford Gucci’s physical products yet (but who may be able to do so in a few years' time).
At the same time, though, we should take into consideration that kids aren't stupid as some brands may think: run your personal, informal survey among kids and teenagers - I did - and you will be surprised to discover that many of them think AR sneakers are very silly or they would only buy them for $0.99. In a way, they seem more interested in skins for videogames (and there is a huge market for that), rather than in products like sneakers you may use only in some virtual environments that seem instead to attract older people maybe bored by the lockdown and willing to spend some money pretending they were going out shopping.
There are points to make about these virtual collaborations and NFTs: though they exist only virtually, Gucci's sneakers aren’t non-fungible tokens. A NFT is indeed a digital file whose unique identity and ownership are verified on a blockchain. While NFTs are unique, the sneakers aren't rare and are available in an unlimited quantity which means they are interchangeable between consumers.
If you’re looking for something more exclusive and collectable, you should check crypto brand RTFKT Studios that mainly focuses on NFTs, creating viral sneaker designs, memes, and collectible exclusives (but watch out if you visit their site as they seem to have a crypto miner on it that will tap into your CPU to mine for cryptocurrency making your computer incredibly slow or simply crashing it).
Last month RTFKT made $3.1 million with their sneaker collaboration with the artist FEWOCiOUS. In that case, though, the buyers could turn the sneakers into a real product (which means this collaboration can't be technically counted as NFT...).
A few days ago RTFKT Studios released their latest sneaker collaboration, this time with Atari that features the "Shiny Edition", inspired by an Atari console, and 6 sneakers designed with a group of digital artists (MGXS; Zomework; NBO; Retrocoin; VIII and Blenderdac) who moved from Atari videogames for these designs (Super Breakout; Blackwidow; Asteroids; Solaris; FoodFight and Pong).
While the Atari "Shiny" was auctioned off on SuperRare, the additional 6 Atari sneakers were minted in editions of 50 and sold via Rarible. Users were allowed to try them on via Snapchat or via the MetaverseMe App before purchasing them in $ETH & $ATRI. The shoes also have real in-game utility and can be used on games such as Decentraland and The Sandbox.
One thing that didn't coinvince some fashion and technology fans about the Gucci sneakers is the fact that, well, they were just sneakers. RTFKT’s sneakers for Atari incorporated instead some innovative elements, such as a display that allows people to play videogames on the shoe and were also used to promote the Atari Token (ATRI) that started trading last November.
Gucci's sneakers do not incorporate any experimental materials, textures, patterns or effects and they are not linked with any tech release or innovation. Yet at the same time, you could argue this was done on purpose, to allow more people to buy them, rather than attracting the attention of collectors as in the case of RTKT's sneakers for Atari.
We have seen the perils and pitfalls of the CryptoArt market in a previous post, so there are still many cons about NFTs and digital fashion, but many people out there will see more pros than cons when it comes to digital fashion designs.
Coronavirus has confined us at home, in a perennial intermittent lockdown state. Most of us shop online not just to buy things we need, but to get a high from it (our brain releases indeed dopamine when we shop) and buying cheap digital designs like the one released by Gucci may satiate the thirst for something new and trendy for people obsessed with fashion or with the "outfit of the day" routine on social media without cluttering wardrobes.
Besides, Coronavirus also had an impact on jobs, so the majority of people simply can’t afford luxury products at the moment or don't want to buy them because, with the global pandemic, we don't have any places to go to. In these cases, as stated in a previous post, digital fashion may bring a new wave of democratization even in a post-pandemic world as economies and the retail sector will have to be rebuilt.
So in future we will definitely see more brands investing in these technologies. In the meantime, you can bet that Gucci will continue its journey into digital worlds, virtual reality and videogames. Will we see a Gucci X Animal Crossing collaboration soon? Not unlikely. In fact, who knows, maybe at the next update we will see exclusive fashion and interior design pieces. Will Tom Nook and Isobel jump on the bandwagon? Guess only time will tell.
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