The metaverse, the fantastic yet now realistic vision of the world wide web as an interactive virtual world, provides an entirely new universe to hunt for treasure. There are even tokens that can unlock prized goods and exclusive artworks that only appear in digital realms. For Gucci, this is now a place to search for lost plunder while experiencing a chic future.
Vault is the luxury fashion brand’s new, experimental online space. Envisioned by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, Vault continues the apparel company’s dedication to exploration of uncharted fashion in multiple dimensions. Gucci also intends this incursion into the metaverse to foster dialogues between past, present, and future.
To establish the Gen Z-focused platform, Gucci purchased an undisclosed amount of land on The Sandbox, a platform that lets people and brands buy and develop virtual real estate. Vault’s virtual shelves now constitute a conceptual store, and are already home to a combination of rare, vintage Gucci finds and new creations by hand-picked designers.
These include Charvet, the world’s oldest shirtmaker, launched first in 1838 on Place Vendôme in Paris. This Parisian vogue emerges exclusively for Vault in a collection of ties, bowties, pochettes, and flower lapels in colorful, re-editioned archival prints.
This blast from the past also announces itself upon handbags, bringing back a collection of bright and bold silk prints launched first in the 19th century by a historic French fashion house. One of the first designers to drop a limited Vault edition, the Belgian Maison Delvaux is known for inventing the modern-day handbag. Delvaux is also the oldest luxury fine leather goods brand in the world, being founded in 1829. This eye on the past with a nose for the future provides Delvaux goods with an incredible style sense that’s realized now on the Vault with an exclusive capsule of eight one-of-a-kind mini Brillant bags. Gucci enriched each with Dadaist patterns inspired by an avant-garde Vault palette.
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Vault now takes on the mantle of emissary to an experimental ethos, representing Gucci’s presence in the metaverse and playing host to a series of crypto-based projects designed for a new, digitally native generation. This electronic alchemy has already announced itself in the form of NFT drops such as the SuperGucci, a collaboration between the Italian fashion firm and the cartoon horror house fashionista Superplastic, created by artist and entrepreneur Paul Budnitz. Gucci has also established itself on Discord to foster conversations with its community about what should come next for the speculative space.
Forever in flux while staying constant in its perpetual pursuit of ideas that go beyond the confines of time and space, Vault will continue to present monthly drops of rare vintage finds, as well as a regular rotation of exclusive capsules, special collaborations, and new brands at vault.gucci.com.
