GANNI SPACE – The digital showroom is here to stay

The GANNI showroom has been a regular part of the brand’s launches for each collection. In 2020, GANNI was compelled to find a new solution when presenting their collections due to Covid-19 restrictions. To tackle this issue with ingenuity and creativity, GANNI partnered with DEPT®.

The collaboration resulted in a unique and immersive digital showroom experience, GANNI SPACE, allowing B2B buyers to explore GANNI’s latest pieces from the safety and convenience of their own homes.

In just six weeks, DEPT® successfully crafted a solution – a micro website with a playful retro aesthetic, captivating viewers’ attention. Its overwhelming positive reception surpassed all expectations, transforming what was initially intended as a one-time fix into an integral part of GANNI’s brand.

The GANNI platform

Our most important task in crafting this space was capturing the essence of excitement and meticulous attention to detail surrounding GANNI’s selling ceremony – a carefully choreographed B2B journey coupled with an enviable showroom setup. GANNI sets the mood by sharing the story behind each collection while their team places the selected items on the rail and sets a carefully curated atmosphere. 

We wanted to ensure buyers could sense the same GANNI ambience through the digital platform. Every aspect of the digital showroom was designed to provide an immersive and engaging experience, allowing buyers to play around with the features themselves. From the carefully curated visuals to the interactive features, we aimed to replicate the energy and atmosphere of the physical ceremony, ensuring that buyers felt connected and enthralled throughout their virtual journey.

A unique digital experience for each collection

GANNI has a unique identity for all their collections and uses their digital showroom as an extension. That’s why our designers develop a unique digital showroom for each of GANNI’s collections, where the user can dive into the universe created around it.

Each digital showroom has its individual DNA, and much work goes into making the experience a big part of it. A playful mindset has been a consistent theme for the digital showroom, which can be seen in gimmicks, games, imaginative transitions, etc., always focusing on the new products and branding of GANNI.

The experience layer of the showroom

Each time GANNI launches a new collection, which is four times a year, we change the experience layer of the showroom. Examples of previous themes in GANNI’s digital showrooms have been flowers, butterflies, and bicycles, where each experience is uniquely developed for that particular collection and theme. 

The core functionality is something we keep from release to release. However, it has evolved a lot over time and is much more tailored to buyers’ needs today. 

To coincide with the first versions of the digital showroom, we made a look book. In the look book, you can see an overview of styles, images, videos, and links to the relevant items in the collection.

In some previous collections, we also added a QR code feature that worked with items in the physical showrooms. The buyer in the physical showroom could scan a QR code on the garment which would take you to the product page where they can view more information about the garment, available sizes, suggested retail prices, etc.

Since the first version, we’ve added much more functionality to help buyers – e.g., search, product pages, view options, etc. The product list in the digital showroom can also be styled to match the campaign’s overall identity, and buyers can get an overview and zoom in on the fabrics and materials used.

A better customer experience

GANNI’s customers have greatly appreciated the virtual showroom. It has proven to be an effective tool for them, allowing for informed ordering decisions as they can view clothes through photos, videos, various styling options, and the previous QR code.

Furthermore, the virtual showroom has played a vital role in safeguarding revenue for both GANNI and their partners during and post-pandemic, and the digital showroom is now an ongoing part of each collection. We’re now up to 13 different digital showrooms.

GANNI discovered additional applications for the virtual showroom within their business. During press days, GANNI’s PR team utilised it as a showroom for the press and even employed it for B2C sales during the lockdown period. This involved virtual appointments between the store staff and B2C customers, providing a live shopping experience.

We continue to actively evolve the platform, recognising its enduring value.