The handbag in picture is designed by Gucci. It’s the Dionysus model, it has a bee embroidered on it and its list price is 3,400 USD. Yet, there are those that spent 4,115 USD to have it. And even more surprising: they paid them for a version of the handbag that doesn’t exist, and it’s not a mistake. The amount was paid to purchase the digital version of this model, or rather the handbag’s “avatar”. It almost seems unreasonable, but that’s how it is. Some have even started thinking that the development and sale of virtual models could multiply the brands’ revenue. For others, this is a “one-hit-wonder”.
It doesn’t exist, but it costs 4,115 USD
Within the Gucci Garden virtual sale, one could buy the Dionysus Bag with Bee for 475 Robux (Cryptocurrency of sorts), worth 6 USD. The fact that the item was only available for a limited time made the price skyrocket. And so, within the popular online platform where Roblox games are designed, one of the users paid 4,115 USD to buy ownership of the digital handbag. Gucci sold other items during the same session, but none of the others matched the success of the handbag.
The value of the virtual world
Jing Daily writes that, by 2025, revenue from digital sources will be of about 400 billion USD. Thus, the news source asks why it took so long before these types of occasions took place? “Anyone who finds the idea of a virtual accessory strange should take a look in their own wardrobe. After all, when was luxury ever just about utility?”
Impossible to ignore
Gucci’s Chief Marketing Officer, Robert Triefus explained to TechCrunch that the brand sees digital platforms as an opportunity that is growing too fast to simply be ignored. Gucci plans on taking advantage of this opportunity by promoting a more inclusive and accessible brand. Even so, according to Jing Daily, it’s likely that digital fashion won’t be any more democratic than the real one. Some prices and general madness may prove this opinion.
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