Gucci designs trainers that cost just $12 but can only be worn online

One of the world’s best known luxury fashion brands is releasing footwear for just a fraction of its standard retail price - but there’s a catch.

Gucci trainers usually sell for anything between £400 and £900, but this pair will cost less than £10 ($12)- because they are designed to be worn exclusively within virtual reality.

The slime green trainers are accented by blues and pinks that are much louder-looking than some of the brand’s bestsellers. A big draw for sneakerheads will be that they are designed by Gucci’s lead creative Alessandro Michele, responsible for designing some of the most iconic looks of the likes of Harry Styles and Lana Del Rey.

Potential buyers will be allowed to try the shoes on for free in-app. A successful purchase means the user is able to wear them whilst using VR chats and augmented reality games. They will be available via the Gucci app in the USA - in the UK, you can get them via the Wanna App, born from the brains of a tech company in Belarus.

CEO of Wanna Sergey Arkhangelskiy believes that “in five or maybe 10 years a relatively big chunk of fashion brands revenue will come from digital products”. The company is also working with other footwear brands such as Puma and Reebok on similar projects.

These virtual shoes are not to be confused with the recent hype of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT’s), which have made headlines globally as the world’s super-rich invest their money into art and music that is solely exists digitally. Buyers of NFT’s treat the purchase like an investment where the product’s value is elastic - Grimes sold a collection of digital art for $6 million that could multiply in valuable over time.

Nathan ‘Doggface208’ Apodaca, responsible for the Fleetwood Mac-soundtracked viral TikTok that brought a lot of joy to our summers is on board too. He plans to sell an NFT of the video for half a million dollars.

Some people aren’t as convinced the trend will catch on.