Gucci dives into virtual luxury shoes with a new exclusive digital pair of sneakers called The Gucci Virtual 25 that can be “worn” in Augmented Reality (AR) or used in partner applications such as Roblox and VRChat. Surprisingly, the shoes are much cheaper than a typical Gucci piece: you can buy the Virtual 25s at Gucci’s app for $ 12.99, or $ 8.99 in the Wanna Kicks AR sneaker app.
The Gucci Virtual 25 sneakers were designed by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele and have a chunky, neon green and pink look that may not be suitable for everyone. But they feel appropriately extravagant for something that will never exist in real life. Like all Gucci clothing, the shoes also carry the iconic “GC” logo; in this case it is on the sole of the shoe and on the inflatable tongue (again, completely virtual).
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The virtual sneakers are available in the “Gucci Sneaker Garage” section of the fashion house’s app.
Image: Gucci
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The Virtual 25s are Gucci’s first digital shoe, though they can be worn in other applications.
Image: Gucci
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The sneakers are bold, colorful and more than just a little fine.
Image: Gucci
The shoes were created in partnership with Wanna, a company that specializes in providing AR technology for marketing (“ARketing”, sighs) and already has its own app to tackle sneakers virtually. The virtual 25s are sold in the Wanna app for the cheaper price of $ 8.99, but if you want to receive the downloadable assets to show the shoes in other apps, such as Roblox or VRChat, you have to buy it for $ 12.99 in Gucci’s app.
To be honest, I do not think these sneakers are for me after trying them. But I see some of the logic that Gucci and Wanna play with. The demand for digital collectibles is only increasing with the growing popularity of NFTs, and while no blockchain is involved, Gucci’s shoes have one over most NFTs: it’s not just a sign that represents ownership; they can actually be used (well, at least practically).