EXCLUSIVE: Ami Recreates Montmartre on Gaming Platform Zepeto
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 down to the cobblestones, sketch artists and picturesque cafés, on Friday.
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After an augmented reality Easter egg hunt last year and an nonfungible-token collaboration with British Olympian Tom Daley, this marks Ami’s third foray into the metaverse and the first time the brand is digitizing its clothes into wearables.
“A trip to Montmartre, with Ami” was a way to “continue on a path of transmission of values, know-how, architecture, the Parisian lifestyle around the world,” said Ami’s chief executive officer Nicolas Santi-Weil. Zepeto’s considerable reach was ideal to prolong the experience of the spring 2023 collection with its winding runway and sweeping view on the Eiffel Tower.
At a moment where travel remains a challenge for most and France’s image is suffering on the global stage — endless mountains of trash on Instagram, anyone? — he and founder Alexandre Mattiussi wanted 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 executive.
Technology seemed the ideal way 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 kind of best-in-class experience Santi-Weil wants to offer.
Users on Zepeto will be able to purchase 14 items in-game, all digital takes on the clothes from the spring 2023 collection, alongside special items such as the Ami de Cœur balloon, in a nod to the one featured in the eponymous 2021 campaign by Jean-Paul Goude.
And for those who want to translate their virtual style into an IRL wardrobe, there will also a dedicated page on the Ami e-commerce site offering the selection for sale.
But it was also “the logical next step,” according to the executive. “This is a way to surprise for a brand rooted in reality, to test new areas of expression, with the idea of reaching a wider audience in a more fun way and continue to say that Paris is gorgeous,” said Santi-Weil.
Launched in 2018, Zepeto now has more than 300 million registered users globally, with 20 million monthly active users, according to its parent company Naver. Creators on the platform have traded more than 2.3 billion items with other users.
Consumers “like being at the heart of the adventure and be increasingly master of their own destiny,” while affirming their identity, for Santi-Weil. “They want to live experiences, be it physically or virtually. They want meaning, they want user-generated content and be able to experiment, to create, to be at the heart of the action.”
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 no question of either-or between the physical and digital worlds, as he is a staunch believer in the idea that the two spheres have to coexist and are complementary.
“For our digital [projects] to be hits, we need to have beautiful stores, beautiful shows and a story that we can embark people on. It’s because we have these that clients trust us to buy 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 executive, the key to continued success remains the same as in the brick-and-mortar world: coherence.
“Given the importance of the [Zepeto] community, it’s a way to be visible but it’s an even stronger constraint on that front,” he said. “And being on too many platforms at once, you risk giving 15 different takes on the brand and would be damaging.”
If anything, he views the metaverse, or rather, the myriad such platforms, as so many opportunities to tell 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 how it goes and what people connected with, that’s what’s exciting,” said Santi-Weil.
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