French luxury brand LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) is diving deeper into the digital realm by recently announcing a strategic partnership with Epic Games, the celebrated creator of Fortnite and Unreal Engine. This powerful union is aimed at transforming the LVMH creative pipeline and launching immersive experiences for customers within the virtual world.
The collaboration will allow LVMH and its Maisons to leverage Epic's 3D creation tools to create and offer customers such experiences as virtual fitting rooms and fashion shows, 360 product carousels, augmented reality, and digital twins for physical items.
LVMH will get access to tools such as Unreal Engine, Reality Capture, Twinmotion, and MetaHuman technology to leverage them for product development and growth. Epic's 3D graphics tool ‘Unreal Engine,’ for instance, can be used for creating digital twins of LVMH products, which will allow customers to check how a product will look and act before being produced.
LVMH Group managing director Toni Belloni said in a statement that these tools would help the Group engage better with Gen Z, who are conversant with their codes and uses.
He added that the collaboration with Epic Games "will accelerate [LVMH’s] expertise in 3D tools and ecosystems, from the creation of new collections to ad campaigns and to [...] Maisons' websites."
Notably, a number of LVMH brands are already using Epic's suite of tools to create virtual experiences. During last year's Viva Technology event, luxury fashion house Bulgari, which is part of the LVMH Group, used Epic's Unreal Engine 5 to create a metaverse experience entitled "Virtual Rome." The same year, LVMH launched Livi, a virtual ambassador developed using Epic's Unreal Engine 5 and MetaHuman technology.
Meanwhile, LVMH's continued foray into the virtual realm highlights its commitment to bold ideas and innovations. This collab is likely to boost customer engagement through new and enhanced experiences while still bringing the company to the next level on the market.
