What role is tech playing in Gucci’s revival push?

Since Sabato De Sarno took the helm at Gucci in 2023, the maison’s pivot from eclectic maximalism to pared-back luxury has fallen under acute scrutiny. What has been less discussed, however, is the brand’s gear shift in Web3. After investing aggressively in the gaming and NFT scenes – highlighted by its Gucci Garden Roblox activation, Gucci Vault platform, and collaboration with crypto company Yuga Labs – the past year has seen Gucci’s virtual roadmap switch lanes. Today, like its collections, the house has adopted a quieter approach to the digital realm. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t making noise. This week, the brand updated its Vision Pro app with a new experience designed to immerse audiences in the house’s archives. More on that below. In other news, Lanvin’s sports arm has deployed artificial intelligence as part of its new campaign. The project hopes to dispel the fear around AI and champion its creative potential. But can consumer reticence be overcome? Gucci takes shoppers into its archives via Vision Pro app What happened: After cementing itself as an early adopter of Apple’s Vision Pro headset in April, Gucci is expanding its virtual reality playbook with a new archival experience. The activation, inspired by the maison’s iconic Bamboo 1947 bag, enables audiences to dive into the Gucci annals (an area typically closed off to the public in the IRL) to learn more about the hero piece’s heritage. Users can explore a digital rendition of the Palazzo Settimanni in Florence, as well as flick through different portals to explore the bag’s original creative process. The verdict: After second-quarter sales dropped 19% to 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), Gucci is doing all that it can to revive its credentials as Kering’s star purveyor. One area the brand is leaning heavily into is storytelling. As luxury grapples with volatile profitability, recent moves from market players have found success in using tech to bolster their storytelling capabilities. Brunello Cucinelli, for instance, last month launched its AI-powered site giving fans an inside look at the brand’s history. The project has reportedly already attracted more than 10,000 daily visitors, so far. While it’s unlikely that Spatial Computing will be the answer to all of Gucci’s problems – considering how niche the tech remains – it’s a route that could yield high rewards via tapping into the deep pockets of tech proponents. Lanvin fuses heritage, machine learning in sports campaign What happened: Lanvin has released a new sports-related campaign created using AI. Intended to showcase machine learning’s creative prowess, the brand deployed the tech to animate four archival sportswear sketches originally drawn by Jeanne Lanvin. The goal, according to group director of digital transformation and innovation at Lanvin Group, is to blend the label’s rich history with cutting-edge developments. The verdict: A brand currently in the midst of a major image makeover since appointing Peter Copping as creative director last month, Lanvin is amping up its efforts to re-enter the luxury conversation. One was way to do that is by deploying AI – one of the biggest buzzwords of the past 12 months. Skeptics have been quick to pan machine learning and accuse it of impeding human creativity. But that hasn’t deterred luxury stalwarts from taking a gamble on the tech. A case in point is rival LVMH which, in May, unveiled an ambitious series of AI-driven projects during Paris’ VivaTech summit, immersing visitors into its Dream Garden pop-up experience. WGSN debuts AI-powered trend forecasting hub What happened: Fashion forecasting platform WGSN has launched a new AI-powered data hub set to help fashion buyers with the planning and development of seasonal trends. Created using WGSN’s TrendCurve AI predictive analytics, the service scrapes and collates information from across e-commerce platforms, catwalks, and search indexes to identify trends and opportunities across the fashion sector. Forecasting up to two years ahead, the hub will also offer a TikTok Trading section, helping buyers to streamline and make sense of the app’s fast-paced ecosystem and scope emerging trends. The verdict: Often regarded as the original trendsetters, buyers are tasked with the job of predicting what will be the next big trends or it products, sometimes as far in 12 months in advance. But that duty has become increasingly more challenging in recent years, with apps like TikTok impacting the turnover of fashion’s trend cycle. That, WGSN believes, is where AI will come in. Earlier this week, Pantone also launched its intelligent color trend prediction service, coined Pantone Color Insider – the challenge now is for companies to avoid becoming overly reliant on the tech. AI’s data capabilities will no doubt be a boon for forecasting hubs like WGSN and Pantone, but algorithms in a market as intuitive as fashion can only go so far without the human touch. Meta Bites As AI wearables transcend the Silicon Valley tribe and penetrate fashion, AI companion Friend joined the likes of Humane and Meta in the running. Slated to ship to customers in January of next year, the pendant (worn around the neck like a necklace) acts as a sentient buddy for wearers to chat to and will develop its own personality over time. Targeting both gaming and car enthusiasts, Tencent's gaming title PUBG Mobile is inviting players to get behind the wheel of several iconic Lamborghini models, including the Aventador SVJ, Estoque, Urus, and Invencible in two colorways, until September 9 in a new experience via its app. Digital fashion house Syky has brought together former Olympian Calvyn Justus and artist Fvckrender to design a pair of phygital pants inspired by Justus' swimming career. The made-to-order trousers, made from denim and neoprene, were available from today, and mark both artist's debut into the world of physical fashion.

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What role is tech playing in Gucci’s revival push?