Luxury brands have a history of exploring digital products.
Hermès released a gaming app called H-pitchhh in 2018. Gucci once collaborated with the American virtual chat company Genies. Each user using Genies could wear various luxury items while creating their own avatar. Italian luxury brand Moschino once sold the brand’s virtual products in the video game “The Sims 4.” Prada tried a virtual fashion show..
In 2019, Louis Vuitton also collaborated with LOL Games. Louis Vuitton’s design director personally created special summer looks for the heroes in LOL. So e-sports heroes wore luxury items. Qiyana in LOL became the first hero to have an LV appearance.
Before this, luxury brands were more wary of digital initiatives. They were not very interested in specific transformation effects. And they used this as a new, timely strategy to close the gap with young people.
This time, luxury brands chose to board the Metaverse’s express train and feel the premium it brings. For every brand, the digital landscape is no longer as simple as marketing and customer acquisition. It is also about the survival of the future market.
Under the pressure of the epidemic, the luxury industry seems to catch the Metaverse debut in 2022 and rise rapidly. Some experts state that the Metaverse is an inevitable step in the integration of humanity and technology.
Fashion, creativity and technology have become closer in collaboration. In this process, traditional luxury fashion brands may have to redefine their associations and extensions.
Of course, the development of the Metaverse concept and the opportunities it brings to the luxury sector cannot be achieved overnight and will take several years. There are still many challenges to overcome in this process and the technology needs to be improved.
In the luxury sector, the possibility that sudden introductions to the Metaverse concept will increase complexity and bring many problems to existing omnichannel retail should not be overlooked. When no brand can keep up with the synchronization of product information and the pace of the supply chain, and the lack of technical support from third parties, it will bring chaos to the retail industry. The luxury industry also needs to pay attention to this possible problem!
However, on the other hand, Metaverse has also become an opportunity that luxury brands should not miss. If luxury brands can gain the upper hand in the Metaverse world, they can alleviate the pandemic-hit luxury industry’s current recovery dilemma. It can increase visibility and capture Gen Z users. On the other hand, although the Metaverse is virtual, it would not be wrong to say that digitalization is a profiteering industry. And in this process, it will require opportunities for luxury brands to flex their muscles to benefit from this, the benefits of which need to be taken into account.
As technology continues to mature, the Metaverse will become increasingly vibrant. And luxury brands will begin to compete for position in the new world (which it did…).
Let’s see who can finally seize the opportunity/opportunities..
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