Gucci has formed a multi-year strategic partnership with Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club. As part of this collection, Gucci plans to play a significant and engaged role in Otherside, the upcoming metaverse offering of Bored Ape Yacht Club.
The collaboration introduced a collection of limited-edition merchandise that features the apes, that consist of clothing, accessories, and other items, all of which are adorned with images of the Bored Apes.
"The Italian luxury fashion house aims to formally join Yuga Labs in exploring the "intersection between fashion and entertainment in the metaverse," Business of Fashion reported.
In March 2022, Gucci collaborated with Yuga Labs on the 10KTF project, a NFT-powered browser game created by digital artist Beetle. The game allowed players to customise their avatars with clothes connected to digital collectibles. Since then, Gucci released branded 10KTF outfits as part of the collaboration. By September of the same year, Yuga Labs had acquired 10KTF.
Throughout last year, Yuga Labs had purchased MeeBits and CryptoPunks, two NFT projects, from Larva Labs. Yuga Labs currently manages these projects in addition to Bored Ape Yacht Club.
"Existing in a world where physical and digital realms collide, and are shaped by creative storytelling, the first activation in the partnership will give a glimpse of Gucci's participation in Otherside, Yuga's gamified, metaRPG universe, beginning this week," Gucci said in a press release.
According to reports, Robert Triefus, the CEO of Gucci Vault & Metaverse Ventures, stated that this partnership will enable Gucci to have an active role in shaping the narrative of Otherside and 10KTF, as it unfolds in various forms.
"Luxury has a role to play. There's a real opportunity for us to create digital products that would be ways to express our houses," chief client and digital officer Gregory Butte told the outlet.
"Our vision is around two pillars: metaverse and Web3. We think the metaverse is already here, the best evidence being video games. Some 2.5 billion people use video games. These virtual worlds will be more and more immersive and present in our lives," Boutte said.
The collaboration has been met with excitement from both the fashion and NFT communities. It represents a new frontier in the world of digital art and highlights the growing intersection between blockchain technology and high-end fashion.