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FASHION BRANDS IN THE METAVERSE 2.0: FROM CATWALK TO CAT CODEHow Gucci, Balenciaga, and Nike are Changing What Luxury Means with Virtual Avatars, Gaming Collaborations, and NFTs

  • Writer: Arman Poureisa
    Arman Poureisa
  • 7 days ago
  • 5 min read

Haute couture runways and flagship stores in Paris, Milan, or New York are no longer the only places where luxury fashion is at its best. In Metaverse 2.0, top brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga, and Nike are transforming luxury through virtual avatars, gaming partnerships, and the concept of 'phygital' goods. 'Phygital' refers to the seamless integration of physical and digital elements, creating a unique and immersive experience for consumers. This trend is being realized through the use of augmented/virtual reality, blockchain/NFTs, and immersive storytelling. Other fashion houses, such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, Versace, Givenchy, Hermès, Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, and new digital fashion houses, are also getting involved. Here are some examples, strategies, and problems, along with their implications for fashion marketing and management.

 

Critical Brand Moves and Case Studies

Gucci

  • Virtual Wearables and AR/Avatars: Gucci has come out with virtual sneakers like the Gucci Virtual 25 that are meant to be used in gaming and AR settings.

  • Gucci Garden (Roblox): They made immersive virtual spaces, like "Gucci Garden" in Roblox, where users can explore branded environments, dress avatars, and buy digital clothes. That helped get millions of people to visit online.

  • NFTs and Virtual Land: Gucci made virtual land experiences like "Gucci Vault Land" in The Sandbox. They also released NFTs that were linked to collectible wearables and community or loyalty programs. 


Gucci Garden experience in Roblox (Gucci, 2025)
Gucci Garden experience in Roblox (Gucci, 2025)

Balenciaga

  • Fortnite Collabs: Balenciaga has worked with Fortnite to make virtual clothes based on its real-life designs so that avatars can wear high-end streetwear online.

  • Moving into immersive and virtual retail: Balenciaga is one of the high-end brands that is investing in immersive technologies like virtual stores, digital showrooms, and VR/AR activations.

 


Balenciaga x Fortnite activation (Vogue Business, 2021)
Balenciaga x Fortnite activation (Vogue Business, 2021)

 

Nike

  • Buying RTFKT and CloneX: Nike bought RTFKT Studios, which is known for its digital sneakers and avatar culture (like CloneX). This enables Nike to work at the intersection of gaming, community, collectible wearables, and Web3 design.

  • Nike started the Swoosh Platform. Swoosh is a Web3 platform where users can design, trade, and collect virtual sneakers and clothing, often in conjunction with real-world items or experiences.

 


Nike x RTFKT Cryptokick sneakers (Vogue Business, 2022)
Nike x RTFKT Cryptokick sneakers (Vogue Business, 2022)

 

Other Important Players and New Ideas

Here are some other brands or digital fashion houses that are pushing the envelope in a bigger way than Gucci, Balenciaga, and Nike:

 

  • Louis Vuitton: NFTs, phygital clothes (like varsity jackets from the Via NFT project), games ("Louis the Game"), and digital collectibles.

  • Prada, Dior, and Hermès are all getting involved in NFTs, wearables, avatar clothing, and AR shop fronts.

  • Versace: Using AR and virtual activations (like Fortnite and Snapchat filters like Mercury Lens) to connect with younger, tech-savvy customers.

  • Chanel: Focusing on immersive VR experiences, virtual ballrooms, and giving customers virtual try-ons and digital product passports for exclusivity and traceability.

  • Margiela: The "MetaTABI" boot, which comes in both digital and physical forms, and includes augmented reality wearables, NFTs, and more.

 

Brands that are digital-native or digital-first:

The Fabricant: a fashion brand that only does digital couture and blockchain-based fashion. Ecopixelwear

DRESSX is a platform for purchasing AR and 3D wearables, digital wardrobes, and cross-platform avatar wearables.

Tribute Brand: digital clothes that fit photos, AR overlays, and physical and digital goods with NFC tags.

 

What Makes Luxury in the Metaverse 2.0

From these examples, we can see some standard strategic levers:

  1. Virtual Identity and Avatars: Luxury brands know that avatars, or digital selves, are parts of people's identities. Putting clothes on avatars is a way to show off your status.

  2. Scarcity, Exclusivity, and Phygital: digital fashion items that are only available for a short time; NFTs that come with real-world items; access to exceptional experiences and token-gated access.

  3. Gaming and platform collaborations: Roblox, Fortnite, The Sandbox, and Decentraland are all well-known platforms. Brands use them as both stores and stages for telling stories in a way that makes people feel like they are there.

  4. AR/VR and immersive retail: virtual try-ons, virtual showrooms, and mixed reality fashion shows.

  5. Digital fashion and sustainability: digital-only fashion, platforms like DRESSX, and digital clothing houses that leave a smaller material footprint.

  6. Community, Loyalty, and New Revenue Streams: Building communities through NFT holders; giving them access to experiences; turning marketing into participatory experiences.

 

Things to think about and problems

  • Realness vs. Hype: With so many brands entering the metaverse, some projects look more like marketing tricks than long-term plans. People are becoming more picky.

  • User Experience and Technology Barriers: It's still hard to use AR/VR, make avatars look real, and make virtual worlds work together.

  • Regulation, Blockchain Complexity, and Environmental Concerns: Problems with regulating cryptocurrencies, the carbon footprint of blockchains, and protecting intellectual property in digital spaces.

  • Making money and making a profit: How to make virtual goods financially viable, how to set prices for digital goods, and how to combine virtual and physical stores.

 

What This Means for High-End Marketing and Management in Fashion

The rise of Metaverse 2.0 means that fashion marketing and management programs will need to adapt their curricula, strategies, and approaches.

  • Marketers need to know what digital identity is, what avatar culture is, and how virtual status works.

  • Management needs to include a Web3 strategy, which means working with gaming and metaverse platforms, blockchain and NFT technology, and planning phygital drops.

  • Storytelling that draws people in, building communities, and designing experiences (like virtual events and interactive activations) will become more critical to brand value.

  • Sustainability will be redefined. It's not just about materials and the supply chain; it's also about your digital footprint and transitioning from physical to virtual goods.

  • Metrics and KPIs will change: tracking engagement in virtual spaces; figuring out how much value token-gated communities have; comparing revenues from digital and physical goods; and tracking loyalty built in virtual worlds.

 

In conclusion

Metaverse 2.0 is not a trend; it changes what luxury means. Gucci, Balenciaga, Nike, and numerous other companies are not only creating digital fashion; they are also redefining luxury as a multiverse identity, an immersive experience, a community, a concept of scarcity, and a form of storytelling. As fashion becomes increasingly a blend of physical and digital, the brands that succeed will be those that make metaverse strategy a core part of their brand, product, and business models, not just as marketing experiments.

 

References

California Management Review. (2025, May). Luxury in the metaverse: A digital renaissance or a fading mirage? https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2025/05/luxury-in-the-metaverse-a-digital-renaissance-or-a-fading-mirage/

DappRadar. (2023, June). 10 fashion brands going digital with NFT wearables for the metaverse. https://dappradar.com/blog/fashion-brands-digital-nft-wearables-metaverse

GQ. (2022, May). The wild arrival of digital fashion. https://www.gq.com/story/web3-fashion-essay

Gucci. (2025). Gucci gaming on Roblox. Gucci Stories. https://www.gucci.com/us/en/st/stories/article/gucci-gaming-roblox

Transform Magazine. (2025, June 3). How brands are building identity in the metaverse. https://www.transformmagazine.net/articles/2025/how-brands-are-building-identity-in-the-metaverse/

Trujillo, A., & Bacciu, C. (2023). Toward blockchain-based fashion wearables in the metaverse: The case of Decentraland. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.01322

Vogue Business. (2021, September 20). Balenciaga launches on Fortnite: What it means for luxury. https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/balenciaga-launches-on-fortnite-what-it-means-for-luxury

Vogue Business. (2022, April 22). Nike and RTFKT take on digital fashion with first Cryptokick sneaker. https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/nike-and-rtfkt-take-on-digital-fashion-with-first-cryptokick-sneaker

Vogue Business. (2023). The state of fashion NFTs in 2023. https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/the-state-of-fashion-nfts-in-2023

Vogue Business. (2024, October). Gucci retains innovation leadership, but Hugo Boss and Versace surprise with virtual activations. https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/technology/gucci-retains-index-leadership-but-hugo-boss-and-versace-surprise-with-virtual-activations

 
 
 

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