Fashion in the virtual world is not a new concept. It might be a surprising concept for a lot of people, but not for gamers or influencers. Several famous fashion houses have already dived into digital fashion since 2019.
Louis Vuitton partnered with Riot Games back in 2019. Vuitton provided original skins for the League of Legends Championship. They also had other digital assets. Fortnite players had their pick of Balenciaga creations in 2021.
Now it’s Gucci’s turn. The Italian fashion powerhouse announced its recent collaboration with Yuga Labs. The creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) will be producing luxury fashion items with Gucci. Their partnership will cross over into the vaunted metaverse.
Merging High Fashion and NFTs
The partnership between Gucci and Yuga Labs appears to revolve around physical jewelry. But these pieces are also tied to NFTs inside BAYC’s Otherside virtual world.
The two companies’ initial collaboration is the KodaPendant. The item is a pendant made from solid silver. It has a connection to the web3 content creator’s Otherside universe.
Otherside is a game revolving around aliens. One of the bizarre species in Otherside is the “Koda.” The Gucci/ Yuga Labs pendant design is reportedly based on these virtual entities.
Every piece of jewelry from the two is already tied to an NFT. It will allow the owner to open various perks inside the game.
There were 3,333 KodaPendant NFTs offered for sale last April 6. Every one of those owners can get their NFT-linked physical jewelry. Gucci will release them later this year. There’s no extra charge for this. The silver pendant will have “GG” inscribed on it. It’s a gamer term for “good game.” It will also have a unique edition number inscribed on the pendant’s other side.
These jewelry pieces will only be available in certain countries. Residents of Canada, the US, and the UK can get their hands on the pendants. These will also be available in most EU nations. You can also get this pendant if you live in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.
NFT holders who are residents of Africa won’t receive a piece of physical jewelry though. Neither will residents from Central and South America
Gucci and Yuga Labs have some long-term plans for their tie-up. The two want to see how fashion and entertainment intersect within the metaverse. One tweet from Gucci summarized their goal. The company said they want to blur the boundary between the digital and physical worlds.
Gucci and Yuga Labs haven’t revealed a lot of details about their latest work. But it's reported that both have signed a multi-year contract. It will involve Gucci designing clothing for Yuga Labs’ Otherside. They will also do the same for 10KTF, an NFT collection bought by Yuga Labs from Beeple.
Gucci’s metaverse CEO Robert Triefus said they’re excited about the partnership. He said it gives them an active role in the continuing narrative of the Otherside game.
Gucci Fashion in the Metaverse
This isn’t Gucci's first rodeo. The fashion company strayed into this space before. It secured an amount of land in The Sandbox back in February 2022. They bought the metaphorical land in the online gaming platform as a way to explore this world. They even hosted several virtual fashion events in it.
But before that, the company invested around $25,000 in native tokens from SuperRare. This is a famous NFT and crypto-art marketplace. Gucci’s 2021 investment allowed it to take part in the decentralized organization. It also helped the fashion house build a presence on a digital art platform.
Gucci’s partnership with Yuga Labs shows the company is staying in the metaverse. It’s a sentiment echoed in a company tweet that stated the House of Gucci will continue to explore the space.
Yuga Labs and BAYC Take on the Metaverse
Yuga Labs is a blockchain tech company. It specializes in digital media and has a strong presence in cryptocurrency. The company also develops digital collectibles and NFTs.
The company is also the genius behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of NFTs rolled out in April 2021. The BAYC collection boasts about 10,000 distinct digital artworks. Each of these features a cartoon ape with a unique and artistic design. The BAYC ape has different characteristics. It also comes with various accessories and backgrounds.
BAYC’s collection is now valued in the billions. It had a floor price of about $114,000 in the third quarter of 2022. Yuga Labs developed a spin-off collection dubbed the Mutant Ape Yacht Club Collection. It was then valued at $427 million.
Every Bored Ape NFT acts as a token of membership. It provides the holder with access to an online community. It also offers them different benefits, like virtual parties and events. Owners also get invites to airdrops and access to other digital assets.
The Bored Ape Yacht Club has already gained a lot of attention. It has also attracted an impressive number of celebrities and high-profile collectors. Their following has resulted in a large boost to the value of their NFTs. The consecutive crypto collapses that occurred in 2022 pulled BAYC NFT values down.
BAYC is not down for the count though. It remains a vital element of the crypto-art and NFT landscape. It continues to inspire other NFT projects. The collective still plays a major part in making the concept of NFT popular. You might even say their influence has made NFTs status symbols. It has also made NFTs digital collectibles. Each BAYC NFT is also based on the Ethereum blockchain.