Kate Spade joins the metaverse with a digital townhouse experience

Kate Spade is formally inviting you to its metaverse townhouse. As the brand’s first foray into the digital sphere, the virtual installation gives customers early access to the autumn collection. Set on the grounds of an exclusive New York estate, the immersive experience also lets users dip into their interior design skills with interactive mini-games.

Visitors can tour the digital townhouse’s rooms, while creating custom Kate Spade wallpaper, adding a message to the “kindness wall,” and testing out virtual instruments. The brand has cooked up new bags for the project, which are fittingly found in the kitchen. Users can choose from three styles that aren’t available online yet: the Patisserie 3D croissant clutch, Sam Icon mini tote, and Dottie bucket bag.

The croissant clutch joins Kate Spade’s other quirky, food-related bags from a pizza slice to a Bellini peach to a Roma tomato. It takes on a curved shape with brown folds that make it almost good enough to eat. As for the Sam Icon and Dottie bags, the purses offer a more traditional everyday style for the less culinary adventurous.

Kate is clicking — The virtual project is an extension of the brand’s physical pop-up that debuted in April with the help of Arlene, a metaverse advertising service. But navigating the digital space for the first time, especially without the help of an established universe like Roblox or Fortnite, is a challenge.

It can be difficult to ensure that traditional consumers will want to spend time perusing the digital experience. Kate Spade has to rely on the engagement of its existing customer base, rather than millions of Roblox users, for example, which led the brand to create a more interactive experience that would be enticing to older and younger customers alike.

Jenny Campbell, Kate Spade’s CMO, told Vogue Business that the townhouse is essentially the first step of the brand’s overall metaverse strategy. More brands are incorporating web3 into their business models, spearheaded by fashion giants such as Gucci and Prada. While some prefer to take the NFT route, Campbell revealed to Vogue Business that Kate Spade has no plans for NFTs in the near future.

The brand’s installation can be accessed through the Kate Spade website when it goes live on September 7.