Gucci to Launch Collectible Figurines With Chinese Virtual Character Marsper
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SHANGHAI — To promote its Gucci Cosmos exhibition in Shanghai, the Kering-owned luxury house is launching a series of collectible figurines with the Chinese pop IP Marsper.
Four variations of the Marsper x Gucci doll, dressed in four Gucci archival looks, will drop on Gucci’s WeChat Mini Program on Friday. Shoppers can enter a lottery system to win a slot to purchase the doll.
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According to images teased by Gucci, two dolls are modeled after looks from Tom Ford‘s Gucci fall 1996 women’s collection: one in the red velvet suit famously worn by Gwyneth Paltrow and another double-breasted version in pinstripe.
The other two dolls are modeled after two looks designed by Alessandro Michele, one featuring the show opener from Gucci’s fall 2015 men’s collection, which was Michele’s first men’s collection for the brand, and another monogrammed cape look from the Gucci Aria show, which was later restaged in Shanghai.
Each 30-centimeter doll will be accompanied by a Gucci Savoy suitcase featuring the GG monogram, which is a nod to the “imaginative journey” that Gucci and Marsper embarked on, according to a Gucci statement.
Two plus-sized versions of the Michele dolls, or “P(er)lus size collectibles,” which are 60 centimeters tall, will also be a part of the collection.
The collaboration between Gucci and Marsper was first introduced three years ago during the brand’s active experiments in the digital realm. Three Marsper dolls were dressed in Gucci Aria looks as a part of the brand’s Christmas campaign for the China market.
It was also one of the first China-related initiatives under the Gucci Good Game umbrella, which included a host of creative partnerships with gaming companies such as XBox, The Sims and Pokemon Go.
Marsper, the mouse-like digital character that hails from Mars, was conceived in 2019 by a creative team led by Richard Lu, the founder of Instar, a Chinese luxury and fashion public relations agency.
Instar was incorporated into Lepop Group in 2021, the latter an all-encompassing “fashion and culture company” focused on IP incubation, celebrity management and lifestyle marketing.
In 2021, Lepop received a funding round of close to $10 million from a group of undisclosed angel investors.
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