Imagine walking through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, ending up in Piazza Della Scala and finding yourself in front of a giant damask chair enriched by the Gucci monogram.
As much as this situation might seem surreal, during Design Week everything can happen, especially when Gucci is involved. The one in Piazza Della Scala, as well as in a lot of other symbol spots of the city of Milan, won't be a real installation, but a creation visible only via the Gucci Décor section of the Gucci App, that thanks to augmented reality let the users see the items of the home collection of the Maison in real spaces.
The app was launched last July, on the occasion of the release of the
home collection of the Italian fashion house. The idea at the heart of the app is at the same time simple and genius: it's possible not only to visualise the items of the collection, including chairs, pillows, cups, tables and wallpapers but above all you can literally see how they would fit in the space you frame with camera of the smartphone. It's definitely an innovative and functional use of augmented reality, which gifts the users completely
new shopping experience.
On the occasion of the upcoming
Milano Design Week, Gucci will upgrade even more the
Décor app, characterised by a new graphic approach, new products and a general improvement of the technology.
From April 9 to 14, moreover, Gucci will host a real
Décor pop-up shop closely connected with the app. For Design Week, in fact, a special map was designed - both printed and digital available on the app - that connects the most important places of Milan. When you find yourself in a spot indicated on the map, all you have to do is to open the Gucci app, hold up your phone and take a look at the
Décor product like virtual sculptures as if they are in front of you,
on the background of Piazza Duomo, Cimitero Monumentale or Piazza Affari. Chairs and vases become huge (virtual) sculptures that blend with the architecture of the city. The initiative is unprecedented and its strong point will be the engagement it will manage to create with the audience: the real Gucci fans will go around the city looking for these special places like a few years ago millions of people would wander around trying to find the latest Pokémon-Go spot. Among the sites of Milan to be featured in the Gucci map, we find the Gucci Hib, the Gucci Art Wall in Largo LaFopp, Planetario Hoepli and Biblioteca Ambrosiana, and many others.
Especially the world of art, and increasingly also the fashion industry, has been taking advantage of the augmented reality. Two environments often accused of being too elitarian and exclusive can in this way open to a potentially infinite audience, as well as providing
immersive and interactive experiences. Augmented reality opens moreover new and unexplored territories also when it comes to
retail: many brands now, from fast to high fashion, have decided to introduce AR in the shopping experience of their customers, that seem to enjoy a more customized approach without intermediaries.
Gucci is definitely the leading company of this trend, taking this technology to the next level during Design Week. The Gucci project is a unique synthesis of art, fashion and technology, using augmented reality in a way that has never been seen before. The latest Gucci creation blends reality with fiction, real places with virtual objects, finally taking Milan in the future.
The section of the app is now active, you'll have just to download the update from the App Store. The functionality is available only for iOS.
