A digital art non-fungible token (NFT) collection is being released by the 256-year-old auction house Christie’s in collaboration with the upscale clothing company Gucci.The collection, titled “Future Frequencies: Explorations in Generative Art and Fashion,” includes 21 NFTs made by artists working with artificial intelligence (AI), including Claire Silver, Emily Xie, Botto, and others.The Christie’s 3.0 digital art platform will host the auction, which starts accepting bids on July 18 and ends on July 25.
The NFT collection is influenced by Gucci’s Bamboo 1947 collection, a legendary line of handbags featuring the company’s distinctive bamboo handle.The collection uses generative systems, such as algorithms and AI, in an effort to foster greater creativity at the nexus of art, fashion, and technology.The partnership motivates both artists and the fashion industry to use Web3 technology, according to Sebastian Sanchez, Manager of Digital Art Sales at Christie’s.
“My goal with this auction is to show the intersection – it’s a spectrum right now,” said Sanchez. “There are so many generative artists who are working with studies on textiles, garments, patterns, and then you have people actually doing literal 3D garments and what we’re presenting is everywhere in between those ranges.”
The collaboration with Gucci, according to Sanchez, makes the collection particularly emotional and encourages both art collectors and fashion enthusiasts to delve into the interconnected themes of the artwork.
“The Gucci name has such a power, and they have their own audience and a proven record that their audience is probably very different from ours,” said Sanchez. “That to me is kind of where the beauty in our collaboration lies – Christie’s is an art expert and Gucci is a fashion expert, and we’re kind of like right in the middle.”
In a recent interview with marketplace SuperRare’s NYC gallery, pseudonymous NFT artist Claire Silver discussed the two pieces she produced for the collection.
“Combining AI, 3D, film, and advanced mathematical functions with antique paintings and tapestries from China, Japan and Eastern and Western Europe, both works are intended to celebrate the era of AI: the sophistication of experience, the innocent joy of the new, the depth of cultural heritage, and the light of the future,” said Silver.
Gucci has been steadily expanding its footprint in its digital fashion and art ventures, in contrast to Christie’s, which has been heavily involved in the Web3 field since its record-breaking $69 million sale of artist Beeple’s “EVERYDAYS” NFT in March 2021.In order to build the Gucci Vault, its digital experience venue, the brand bought land in the metaverse The Sandbox in February 2022.In order to join the marketplace’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and start its “Vault Art Space” to display NFT art, it invested $25,000 in SuperRare’s native RARE token in June 2022.The company launched a collaboration with Yuga Labs earlier this year in order to deliver haute fashion to the Otherside.