The luxury Italian fashion brand Gucci recently revealed that they purchased a plot of land in popular Ethereum-based metaverse the Sandbox.
The announcement made on Twitter was accompanied by a Discord channel with over 70,000 members. The brand aims to expand its online concept store Gucci Vault to the metaverse to create more interactive experiences.
Gucci, which was founded in 1921 in Florence by Guccio Gucci, did not reveal how much they paid for the plot of land and declined to make a statement.
The Sandbox is a community-driven decentralized gaming ecosystem that has become one of the most popular metaverses in the world. It lets users buy, sell, and trade digital voxel assets and have gaming experiences within the metaverse.
The Sandbox also provides free software that allows creators to make games and other digital experiences in the metaverse that can be monetized for income.
This is not the high-fashion brand’s first foray into NFTs. In March 2021, Gucci auctioned an NFT collection inspired by its Fall/Winter collection that was hosted by Christie’s auction house. In May of the same year, they dropped Gucci Garden on Roblox to mark their 100th anniversary.
Most recently, Gucci is collaborating with SUPERPLASTIC for a non-fungible token project with digital artists Janky and Guggimon. Titled “SUPERGUCCI,” the ultra-limited NFTs come with handcrafted porcelain sculptures to accompany the digital assets. The first collection dropped on Feb 1.
Gucci Isn’t the Only Brand in the Metaverse
Since Facebook announced its name change to Meta, major brands and companies have been opting into the metaverse at an alarming rate. Nike, Adidas, Crocs, Walmart, and Apple are just a few of the big names that have entered the NFT and metaverse space recently and we expect many more to follow.
In 2021, the NFT market reported over $25 billion in sales, and that number is expected to grow this year. Morgan Stanley predicted in November that luxury-branded NFTs could become a $56 billion market by 2030 — largely in part thanks to the metaverse.
The metaverse lets brands and individuals create experiences in virtual and augmented reality, including shopping, attending concerts and art galleries, gaming experiences, and more.
With Web 3.0, digital assets can be bought and sold using cryptocurrency within the metaverse, giving individuals, companies, and established brands like Gucci, who are willing to invest in a plot of virtual land, an opportunity to innovate within a nascent and thriving market.