Prada’s Reality Hits Home
By: Mackenzie Baker | Jun 09, 2020
Prada is adapting to shopping restrictions during the Coronavirus pandemic by providing a luxury experience from home. Using virtual reality, Prada’s new initiative guides customers through an immersive, international journey that “overcomes distances” and “stimulates the senses”. The experience lets viewers see Prada’s Spring 2020 collection and explore its Milan, Florence, New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo flagship stores. The experience also includes an up-close look at the artisanal making of its men’s shoes and a behind the scenes view of the Made to Measure project, the brand’s exclusive and personalized tailoring service.
Prada’s focus on a digitized shopping experience is reflective of its pledge to spotlight innovation for the new year. The launch of a cinematic, travel-infused marketing strategy could increase Prada’s direct-to-consumer sophistication, as noted in a Gartner report on the topic. Additionally, the brand signed a partnership in May with Sprinklr—an AI customer experience platform—to further augment its digital endeavours. Prada made the initiative compatible with a variety of VR technology, including YouTube VR, Veer, Oculus, Youku, and Facebook in an effort to expand its reach further still. Creating a widely accessible VR experience could help cultivate a tech-savvy, yet still luxury-revering audience for the label. It could also set Prada apart from its competitors, as it aims to turn online shopping into more of a tangible experience.
Prada’s new VR venture could open up a new realm of opportunity for luxury labels to connect with customers and modernize the traditional shopping experience on all levels.
