PARIS — Fancy a stroll around Montmartre, without crowds, strikes or demonstrations?

Then head over to social gaming app Zepeto, where French label Ami is launching its recreation of the picturesque neighborhood, right all the way down to the cobblestones, sketch artists and picturesque cafés, on Friday.

After an augmented reality Easter egg hunt last 12 months and an nonfungible-token collaboration with British Olympian Tom Daley, this marks Ami’s third foray into the metaverse and the primary time the brand is digitizing its clothes into wearables.

“A visit to Montmartre, with Ami” was a option to “proceed on a path of transmission of values, know-how, architecture, the Parisian lifestyle around the globe,” said Ami’s chief executive officer Nicolas Santi-Weil. Zepeto’s considerable reach was ideal to extend the experience of the spring 2023 collection with its winding runway and sweeping view on the Eiffel Tower.

At a moment where travel stays a challenge for many and France’s image is suffering on the worldwide stage — countless mountains of trash on Instagram, anyone? — he and founder Alexandre Mattiussi desired to recreate “that little moment of French magic that we love talking about and bringing to life” from the inception of the brand, continued the chief.

Technology seemed the perfect option to create an immersive experience and Zepeto’s lighthearted doll-like style felt fitting to telegraph “something soft, rounded and friendly,” while the app’s tools offered the type of best-in-class experience Santi-Weil desires to offer.

Users on Zepeto will find a way to buy 14 items in-game, all digital takes on the garments from the spring 2023 collection, alongside special items comparable to the Ami de Cœur balloon, in a nod to the one featured within the eponymous 2021 campaign by Jean-Paul Goude.

And for many who wish to translate their virtual style into an IRL wardrobe, there will even a dedicated page on the Ami e-commerce site offering the choice on the market.

Nevertheless it was also “the logical next step,” in line with the chief. “This can be a option to surprise for a brand rooted in point of fact, to check latest areas of expression, with the concept of reaching a wider audience in a more fun way and proceed to say that Paris is gorgeous,” said Santi-Weil.

Launched in 2018, Zepeto now has greater than 300 million registered users globally, with 20 million monthly lively users, in line with its parent company Naver. Creators on the platform have traded greater than 2.3 billion items with other users.

Consumers “like being at the center of the journey and be increasingly master of their very own destiny,” while affirming their identity, for Santi-Weil. “They wish to live experiences, be it physically or virtually. They need meaning, they need user-generated content and find a way to experiment, to create, to be at the center of the motion.”

While he wouldn’t be drawn into conjectures about whether virtual sales would translate into purchases of the physical garments, Santi-Weil felt there was absolute confidence of either-or between the physical and digital worlds, as he’s a staunch believer in the concept that the 2 spheres need to coexist and are complementary.

“For our digital [projects] to be hits, we want to have beautiful stores, beautiful shows and a story that we will embark people on. It’s because we’ve these that clients trust us to purchase digitally — on our e-commerce, on platforms, on WeChat or elsewhere,” he said. 

For the 12-year-old brand, platforms like Zepeto are “playgrounds where [Ami] is in exploratory mode,” and for the chief, the important thing to continued success stays similar to within the brick-and-mortar world: coherence.

“Given the importance of the [Zepeto] community, it’s a option to be visible nevertheless it’s a good stronger constraint on that front,” he said. “And being on too many platforms directly, you risk giving 15 different takes on the brand and can be damaging.”

If anything, he views the metaverse, or somewhat, the myriad such platforms, as so many opportunities to inform the Ami brand story in novel creative ways and receive direct feedback from its community. “Taking the time to listen, learn, taking that risk and seeing the way it goes and what people connected with, that’s what’s exciting,” said Santi-Weil.