Gucci has unveiled its latest virtual space, called Gucci Town, on Roblox. Unlike its previous metaverse space, Gucci Garden, which was also on Roblox for two weeks last year, Gucci Town will have a permanent presence on the online gaming platform.
“We’ve been experimenting with Roblox for years and in May 2021 we unveiled the first Gucci-themed immersive experience – Gucci Garden. For just two weeks, visitors had the opportunity to walk through a virtual counterpart of the Archetypes exhibition in Florence. Part of the success of that experience – which garnered 20 million visitors and was recently awarded a Webby Award – was its ability to create a sense of community around the brand on Roblox, thanks to our partnership with up-and-coming content creators and Gucci’s virtual goods instantly becoming signifiers of belonging to a group of users with shared values,” said Nicolas Oudinot, executive vice president of new business for Gucci and general manager of Gucci Vault.
Gucci Town is coming to @Roblox. Start exploring tomorrow. #AlessandroMichele #GucciTown pic.twitter.com/0PvtDCKUAg
— gucci (@gucci) May 26, 2022
Gucci Town is an extension of creative director Alessandro Michele’s vision for the brand in the virtual world, and features a plaza that connects different areas.
Players can walk from the central plaza to the heights of mini-games, where they can compete in Gucci games, such as Tile Takeover or Flashlight Tag, to earn GG Gems, the currency of the Gucci Town experience. This currency can be used to purchase power-ups or virtual Gucci items.
There is also the Creative Corner, where users can create their own artwork or discover a visiting artist’s artwork.
Users can also visit Vault Plaza, an exhibition space showcasing some of Gucci’s latest collaborations and releases. It is inspired by Gucci Vault, the experimental online space that houses Gucci’s metaverse and NFT projects along with a selection of rare vintage pieces.
The Gucci store is a boutique where visitors can purchase digital Gucci apparel to dress their Roblox avatars. Items include the new archive-inspired Gucci Blondie bags designed by Michele, as well as limited edition collectibles. The first collection of Gucci store items will be available through June 17, and a new limited edition Gucci Blondie bag will be released each week.
Welcome to #GucciTown on @Roblox. The House's ongoing experience is now live on the global platform for shared experiences. Discover more https://t.co/ay4G57B13e #AlessandroMichele pic.twitter.com/nsAR0XYVt8
— gucci (@gucci) May 27, 2022
The digital fashion items use Roblox’s recently launched “Layered Clothing” technology for hyper-realistic 3D garments that fit any body type by mimicking the way clothing fits and adapts to real life. Christina Wootton, vice president of global partnerships at Roblox, said, “Clothes instantly respond to an infinite combination of body parts, movements and virtual worlds in Roblox.”
For his part, Nicolas Oudinot, executive vice president of new business at Gucci and general manager of Gucci Vault, said, “The function of fashion has always been, first and foremost, symbolic, as it allows individuals to express themselves and project their identity. In a digital environment based on user co-presence, there is a wellspring of opportunity for those who share our mindset, as aesthetics are crucial for individuals to create their digital persona, reflecting their tastes, their ambitions and their visual horizons beyond the limitation of the physical world.”
After exploring the different parts of Gucci Town, visitors can take a break at the Power-up Place, a café for community members to meet and interact with each other. Each Gucci Town space will be regularly updated with new content, in keeping with the fashion house’s journey into the metaverse.
Gucci Town is the brand’s fifth experience on Roblox. It has been developed in collaboration with independent creators from the Roblox community such as Rook Vanguard, Bunnexh and Lirn.
Wootton said Gucci is the first luxury fashion brand to have a permanent space on Roblox. In February, Gucci purchased land in The Sandbox as Gucci Vault prepares to build its virtual world on the platform.
As strange as the partnership may seem, it’s also a natural evolution for Gucci, which has been dabbling a lot in the video game space lately. In addition to launching experiences on Roblox, the fashion company also partnered with e-sports organization 100 Thieves for a backpack and with Microsoft for an expensive Xbox.
In fact, many big names in fashion have done similar collaborations, such as Balenciaga with Fortnite, Burberry with Honor of Kings and Longchamp with Pokémon Go.
Last December, Tommy Hilfiger partnered with eight user-generated content designers from the Roblox community to create and promote a Tommy x Roblox Creators collection, and Ralph Lauren created a Winter Escape holiday experience on Roblox that included virtual polo shirt stores where users could style their avatars and shop.
Nike has also collaborated with Roblox to create Nikeland, inspired by its world headquarters. Companies such as Alo Yoga and Forever 21 have also entered the metaverse with Roblox.
