Gucci introduces Gucci Basket, a distinctive high-top designed by House Creative Director Alessandro Michele. It is mainly made of Demetra, Gucci’s pioneering luxury material that combines quality, softness, durability, and scalability with an eco-friendly ethos.
Few games have had such an impact on street culture as basketball, and now, recalling the high-top trainers that players wear on-court and that have become part of a deep-rooted pop-cultural off-court look, this lace-up sneaker by Gucci for its Ouverture collection takes its name from the sport.
Gucci Basket, inspired by hoops, is a genderless sneaker, and features a special identification tag. The style comes in three different colour and fabric combinations. The shoes have a distressed look, and bright colour details in mixed materials are integrated into the distinctive design, including blue soles, violet mesh tops, padded and ribbed orange backs that wrap around the ankles, and green laces. Fluorescent rubber trim displaying House motifs, including the Interlocking G, is applied to the tongues and on the outsides of the shoes.
Demetra, the main material used, is the culmination of two years of research and development by Gucci’s own technicians and artisans. Produced entirely in Italy in Gucci’s factory, it is created using the same expertise and processes for tanning thereby achieving characteristics that give Demetra a distinctive, pliable and resilient performance, with a supple and luxurious finish. The eco-innovation behind Demetra combines efficient processes with animal-free raw materials that are primarily from sustainable, renewable, and bio based sources.
Offering visitors a unique chance to discover the sneakers in a dedicated environment, a series of Gucci Pins – the House’s ephemeral stores inspired by the pins seen on interactive digital maps – will be unveiled in different corners of the world. Providing an immersive shopping experience, these pins are inspired by basketball courts, celebrating their legacy and cultural significance.
Bringing the shoes in a parallel virtual dimension, a new game will also debut on Gucci Arcade, the ever-growing digital environment where users can engage with the product and codes of the House in unexpected ways, inspired by vintage video games and their aesthetics. Titled Gucci Burst, the game sets the Gucci Basket in a graphic landscape of flying geometric shapes, where space and time have a will of their own.
