XR & AI Portal Vol.23 - Why we all love Gucci app on VisionPro (2/2)?

💡 insight on XR & AI this week

Aug 28, 2024

【Puffinwalker’s XR Portal】

Why we all love Gucci app on VisionPro (2/2)?

Last time we lightly touched on why VisionPro's Gucci app is so engaging.

But what about other luxury and consumer brands? How are they doing? Did they all just go for interactive documentaries? Let's check on other brands' performances in this piece.

Besides Gucci, in the lifestyle category, I'm really into the presentation by the liquor brand DonJulio and the first collaboration between the luxury shopping app SYKY & Anrealage.

Both of these apps have a common thread: they still focus on brand storytelling but give users more autonomy and a certain level of exploration. What info to check out, what to skip, it's all voluntary. Among them, the liquor brand DonJulio is definitely the heavier one. Unlike Gucci, perhaps because liquor as a daily consumer product doesn't have any fancy models to show off, and the cultivation of brewing materials involves a lot of outdoor scenes, DonJulio made good use of another feature on VisionPro — spatial videos and photos, to present the app.

DonJulio & SKYK

DonJulio started by setting up a bar table at the user's home, using a portal to display the exterior of the distillery, with a few buttons on it. Users can choose to watch a panoramic video or check out the spatial photos of the distillery, immersing themselves in the production environment in a quasi-physical way. They can also learn about the brewing process through a combination of spatial videos and 3D models. The coolest part is that the opening portal is walkable (probably not the portal defined by Apple, more like the MoonPortal app that you can enter), with footprints guiding users in. Once inside, you'll find out that what seemed like a flat photo from the outside is actually a panoramic photo. Looking forward, you'll see the Mexican distillery, with a pickup truck parked, and looking back, it's still your home.

Now, let's dive into SYKY. It's not a brand itself but more like an online boutique/store platform like Net a Porter, collecting various brands for unified display and sales. The first phase of the collaboration with brand Anrealage is spot on, very much in line with the platform's characteristics. Designer Kunihiko Morinaga is known for digital fashion (of course, SYKY has this gene too, having released several fashion-related NFTs with physical items before). The pyramid-shaped dress showcased by Anrealage in the app this time is based on Beyonce's new album, delivered to users with a tech-savvy metal roller, and users can change the fabric effect of the dress with gesture control. The pearl-like orbs in the background corners can be clicked for interaction, opening videos to watch, and after watching, the orbs change their material. The experience is short but the combination of model materials is thoughtful.

Mansion Margiela on Taobao

Next up, we have the Mansion Margiela on Taobao.

Margiela is smart and cautious. As a non-top-tier brand, they didn't choose to develop their own app (or have someone else do it) but collaborated with Taobao, the shopping app. launching as a scene on VisionPro under Tmall Luxury. Although this scene is small, it has everything. There are videos introducing the brand culture, and detailed models of classic items. Once it set the fire of purchase in your mind, you can jump to the product details page with just one click and see more information (the interface is a large-screen version of the mobile Taobao interface) and place an order directly. Relying on Taobao's mature modules and their own online stores, they just need to supplement the display of the brand and products by combining the characteristics of the new platform, and since the user's expectations would be lower (just like shopping groceries and suddenly see something fancy), doing something special can stand out, which is a very smart approach.

Balenciaga & Rimowa

Now, let's talk about some apps that I think could be more thoughtful. One is Balenciaga, and the other is Rimowa.

Perhaps seeing Gucci's good reviews, Balenciaga also made the show videos, including this year's Shanghai show, into an app and put it on VisionPro. The effect ... It's a live show video of three different scales (all models, T-stage, individual posters), and camera positions (show in glassbox before T-stage, T-stage, the latter half of the T-stage after the show), claiming to be an "immersive" video, but when you click in, you find it's still a 2D video, just with blurred edges. How am I supposed to comment on that (oh, and it also comes with a playlist and previous show videos, all in 2D)?

Rimowa, on the other hand, is a simple shopping app where users can view the 3D models of the suitcases, quickly compare, and then jump to the official website to place an order. Of course, with the see-through capabilities of VisionPro, you can visually compare Rimowa's suitcases with the ones you already have... Just one thing bothers me really, is the real size of the suitcase. Since we have dynamic scale on VisionPro, the size of the model volume would adjust itself to match the distance from the viewer, and with the dimensions labeled on the suitcase, it’s very confusing. And wait? Shouldn’t dynamic scale applied to window instead of volume? Is this window even volumetric? ( reasonable guess from my friend Onee) Anyway under the circumstance, The suitcase could be either larger or smaller than real size depends on where you put it, you can check my video here to see it better.

For me personally, I’ll just use the size as a renference but get a physical ruler before purchasing the suitcase.

Indeed, when it comes to fashion and lifestyle apps that focus on brand promotion, is it a must to weave in a compelling narrative? Not quite, but there's no denying that apps that champion cultural storytelling often shine brighter. Crafting such experiences does call for a bit more finesse, or perhaps a strategic alliance with well-established platforms.
Even for apps that don't bank heavily on storytelling, it's worth taking a leaf out of Gucci's book. Their app design offers a blueprint for creativity and innovation. So, let's keep the inspiration flowing and aim to make our mark in the digital realm with thoughtful and inspired app design.