Italian high-end luxury brand Gucci is venturing further into Web3.
The Florence-based company is buying into its first decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) via a new partnership with non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, SuperRare.
Gucci has acquired $25,000 worth of RARE tokens to join the SuperRareDAO. With its buy-in, Gucci is launching the “Vault Art Space,” an exhibition that will include a selection of NFT artworks by 29 artists.
“We approached SuperRare for this knowing we could rely on our mutual effort to amplify the vision of this multifaceted group of artists,” Gucci Vault CEO Nicolas Oudinot told CoinDesk. “We were fascinated by SuperRare’s ability to provide [artists] with a platform to showcase their work in an innovative way, one that is built on a sense of community and that enhances interactions and decentralization as key tools to support both artists and collectors.”
The initiative comes as many luxury brands introduce NFTs and look for other ways to use blockchain technology. In February, Gucci dropped 10 NFTs through a collaboration with cult toy brand Superplastic.
The exhibition, titled “The Next 100 Years of Gucci,” is a series of collectible art pieces that consider Gucci’s heritage and future. “The vault is Gucci’s digital space,” SuperRare co-founder and chief product officer, Jonathan Perkins, said. “And they’re going to be working with artists and selling art through their space, which will be powered by SuperRare technology.”
Oudinot added that the exhibition will encompass “a broad spectrum of artistic references.”
Perkins told CoinDesk the partnership first emerged in January and will roll out in a series of phases, which would eventually come to include a gallery that will live on SuperRare’s platform later this year.
The partnership marks the first time the fashion house partakes in a DAO, giving them governance rights within the SuperRare community. Perkins said that the two are weighing what it means for a luxury brand to buy into a DAO, and that the initiative could set a trend for other big players.
Oudinot said that through the partnership, Gucci is looking to participate in a more “interconnected and decentralized economy.”
The exhibition will be on display and auctioned off directly on Vault’s website, which is housed by Gucci, in three drops. The first drop will occur June 23 to July 1, 2022, followed by the second between July 7 and July 15. The third will likely take place between July 21 to July 29.