Gucci, Sandbox Metaverse Team on Store, Event Space

Luxury fashion house Gucci has partnered with The Sandbox to purchase an undisclosed amount of virtual land, PSFK wrote Sunday (Feb. 27).

Gucci originally announced the metaverse development on its Discord server earlier this month. The Sandbox is a digital platform allowing people, brands and organizations to buy and develop virtual real estate.

Gucci’s idea is an “interactive fashion experience” based on Gucci Vault, the umbrella term for the brand’s metaverse-related projects, along with the line of business Gucci is using to sell vintage pieces from its collection and from other emerging designers.

The idea will be spearheaded by Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director. The report noted the project is inspired by “childhood memories of the search for beauty,” though not many other details are available thus far.

Per the report, the finished product will let fans buy virtual fashion items, and it will come with an interactive maze and space to host “conversations about fashion and the metaverse.”

Gucci was an early adopter of things like digital fashion and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), along with the metaverse, so the company’s ideas here gel with what they have been doing. Gucci also partnered with Superplastic recently, with the intent of making a set of NFTs.

Gucci parent Kering’s online sales were up 55% last year, which was a key driver in the company’s overall trend of improvement for its earnings results.

Read more: Gucci Parent Kering Rides eCommerce Explosion to Record Revenue in 2021

The company had its online penetration rates double since 2019. Now, they make up 15% of the company’s overall retail sales.

Kering’s revenue was 40% higher in 2021 than in 2020.

“Kering realized excellent performances in 2021, further consolidating its prominent position in the luxury of the future,” Chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault said at the time. “Thanks to their ability to blend authenticity with bold creativity, all our Houses achieved sharp sales rebound, way beyond their 2019 levels, while reinforcing the exclusivity of their distribution and further enhancing their brand equity.”