Fashion Brands and the Digital World
The concept of digital fashion is taking off in many ways, but one of the most interesting partnerships is the one between Gucci, a century-old mega-brand with a value of $17.6 billion, and Genies, a tech startup founded in 2017 that’s gathered $25 million in funding and has Bitmoji in its sights. Gucci is conducting multiple experiments with the digital space and Gen Z, its savviest inhabitants. These dabblings have earned it acclaim from other luxury brands that are still scrambling to figure out their digital strategies. It’s clearly yielding dividends, considering its value rose by 70 percent between 2019 and 2020 and has doubled its revenue over the past four years. For a luxury brand, its ability to draw sales from the millennial and Gen Z generations, demographics increasingly eschewing luxuries in favor of cheaper options, such as ‘fast fashion’, is notable: 62% of Gucci’s sales in 2018 were attributed to under-35s.
Digital Fashion
The goal of Gucci is not necessary to establish a foothold as a ‘tech-first’ brand. They want to invest in eCommerce, display their sustainable credentials, and reorient their lines to fit the tastes of contemporary streetwear culture. As the COVID-19 pandemic has hit people hard in the wallets and reduced opportunities for showing off outfits, though, eCommerce opportunities have been drying up. In March 2020, online revenue for apparel was down 11 percent year on year, while general online revenue was up by 50 percent. However, this is not a sign of people losing interest in the fashion industry, simply of those energies being redirected into digital channels. The massive surge of interest in apps and games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been driven by the fashion-conscious, and brands have reciprocated in kind. The lifestyle brand 100 Thieves made its inventory available to wear in-game for Animal Crossing players.
Genies is another app that provides digital clothing options that users may not have easy access to. In this way, young fashion enthusiasts can enjoy mixing and matching designer clothing, stretching their fashion design muscles and undergoing digital transformations that would be impossible in brick and mortar spaces.
Genies Avatars and Digital Fashion
Genies CEO Akash Nigam and co-founder Evan Rosenbaum set out to create the most intelligent and dynamic avatars on the market. By reaching out to brands such as Gucci, they have given their app Genies an expanded social media platform and legitimacy in the eyes of their users.
This symbiotic relationship could expand to other fashion companies in the future. Louis Vuitton? Chanel? Armani?
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