Gucci sneakers for 12.99 euros aren’t a hoax. Just go on the Italian brand’s app, scroll down to the Gucci Sneaker Garage to customize your favorite model with different colors, patterns, and textures; then add it to your cart, complete the purchase, and you’re all set. What’s the catch? There’s a disclaimer to know before rushing to get the deal of a lifetime: those shoes don’t exist. Or rather, they’re real only through the screen of a phone thanks to augmented reality: basically, you spend about ten euros to be able to frame your feet and take a selfie or a photo with a pair of virtual sneakers custom-made for you by Gucci. The effect is realistic, works perfectly, and the app “follows” your feet naturally and smoothly: in short, if you’re looking for the most economical way to “have” a pair of Gucci shoes, buying them in augmented reality could be the best solution.
They are called Gucci Virtual 25 and have been custom-made by designer Alessandro Michele exclusively for augmented reality: they appeal to a younger audience with a modern design, laceless and with a mix of colors ranging from green to pink to blue. You won’t find them in stores but only online or on the Gucci app (you can download it for iOS and Android) where you can also include one of the customizations designed by the Florentine fashion house. Presented in collaboration with the Wanna Kicks app, the first virtual Gucci shoes fit perfectly into the new strategy that focuses on merging fashion and video games to attract and retain new users. The goal is to ride the gaming phenomenon and try to engage gamers by positioning themselves as gaming companions. Companies know well that gamers are young and do not have a sufficient budget to buy luxury items, which is why they create exclusive skins with the most popular video games of the moment and seek to introduce themselves to the new generations. It happened with Fortnite, with League of Legends, and with Animal Crossing, but we are talking about a phenomenon destined to grow further in the coming years.
It is not a coincidence, therefore, that the virtual Gucci sneakers will only be visible on VR Chat, a kind of social network for virtual reality, and on Roblox, one of the most famous video games on the planet where you can create virtual worlds to your liking. Complicit in the lockdown and the “digitalization” of our social relationships, increasingly mediated by a screen, we now need to wear virtual sneakers to impress our friends. Of course, we will pay the same amount we would have spent at Lidl for the yellow-blue shoes that caused a stir a few months ago, and, in addition, we will also have to share our personal data to be perfectly profiled by the Italian brand, but the wow effect on social media will be guaranteed.
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The first virtual Gucci sneakers that are bought only online “of course”