Gucci continues to explore virtual fashion and its endless possibilities. The Italian luxury brand expands its partnership with Genies through the development of an Avatar 3D. Gucci will join Giphy, an online GIF database and search engine owned by Facebook, and will be Genies’ first partner for the new software. According to WWD, the terms of the agreement also provide that Gucci users can dress their avatars in the brand’s latest collections and the digital goods will be discounted. “At Gucci, we embrace experimentation,” said Robert Triefus, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the Italian fashion house. “Working with Genies has allowed Gucci fans and employees to ’embrace self-expression’ by creating digital representations of themselves. Enhancing self-expression has been a huge part of our philosophy for the past five or six years”.
But what are the perks of this investment for Gucci? The use of avatars automatically translates into an engagement for the brand, especially involving an age range who would not be able to buy a Gucci garment at the moment. Other companies have also adopted this new technology. Ralph Lauren partnered with Snap to create a virtual wardrobe for Bitmoji, an application where users can create avatars of themselves. The app has also worked with Steve Madden, Nike and Adidas.
