Gucci Invests $25K in DAO of NFT Marketplace SuperRare to Start Digital Art Vault

#Italian high-end luxury brand #Gucci is venturing further into Web 3.

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. “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 Perkin says. “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 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.