Gucci has quickly become one most present brands in the metaverse. Now, with the help of digital art marketplace SuperRare, the Italian luxury label is opening an exhibit of collectible NFT artworks. Named the Vault Art Space, the project will launch with a debut exhibit, The Next 100 Years of Gucci.
The Gucci gallery —
Consisting of digital and collectible pieces, the fashion house selected 29 artists to showcase their works in a way that reflects Gucci’s heritage and future. Some of the artists have already established themselves as crypto connoisseurs, while others who are more traditional are using the space to experiment with the medium.
Artworks throughout the collection explore the lines between human and metaverse, but all draw on what makes Gucci Gucci. Artist An Chen interprets Gucci’s signature flora pattern in “Flora II — Gocce de Flori” by displaying the “design growing powerfully across time and dimensions,” the artist said. Aliina Kauranne, another artist in the gallery, infuses shiny retrofuturism and ‘90s lava lamps into her piece, “GG Metal Boot.”
The gallery comes shortly after Gucci acquired $25,000 worth of SuperRare DAO’s native token $RARE. The partnership marks Gucci’s grand entrance into the marketplace, and the first DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) focused on curation in Web3. Alessandro Michele, the house’s creative director, is keen on cultivating a technology-forward vision for Gucci that extends past overpriced athleticwear and a dip into smart tech.
Although most brands are just starting to get their feet wet with Web3 and NFTs, Gucci has already established itself in the ones-and-zeroes universe. The label announced a Roblox-based meta-world called Gucci Town last month, a community-based virtual experience for all. Its first NFT was auctioned in 2021 to celebrate the first 100 years of Gucci, and a Superplastic collab followed suit this year.
The installation will be presented and auctioned directly from the Vault’s website in three chapters. The first will take place from June 23 to July 1, the second from July 7 to July 15, and the third from July 21 to July 29 with ETH being the currency of choice. If this is where a century of Gucci has landed the label, imagine what the next century will bring.
