FUTURE OF THE PAST: Semiotic Analysis of Gucci's Futurist Renaissance Through Artificial Intelligence

EasyChair Preprint 13709

Abstract

The recently inaugurated luxury global brand Gucci store in Chengdu, China, has garnered attention for its creative interior design and bold innovation through the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in a generated video, aiming to integrate the brand's Italian culture with the local Chinese culture. The store's atmosphere, described as "Futuristic Renaissance," blends the beauty of the past with the audacity of the future in its impressive LED display covering its three-level store walls, creating a dynamic digital fresco showcasing dreamlike landscapes. In its pursuit of a hybrid aesthetic, merging both Italian and Chinese cultures, the brand faces the challenge of balancing cultural sensibilities. While the store is undoubtedly a testament to Gucci's creative prowess, it prompts reflection on the broader implications of luxury brands navigating diverse cultural landscapes. Peircean semiotic analysis, emphasizing the importance of signs and interpretation in communication, can, in this context, aid the brand in understanding diverse cultural signs through cultural semiosis. An analysis from a branding perspective was performed ad showcases how Gucci used heritage, innovativeness, storytelling, and glocalization as a successful branding strategy in the Chinese market. Cultural sensitivity, when incorporated into a brand narrative in the choice of signs, colors, and symbols, creates communication that resonates authentically and harmoniously, respecting not only cultural diversities but also the commercial and institutional facets of a brand.

Keyphrases: Generative Artificial Intelligence, brand narrative, consumption, cultural diversity, semiosis

@booklet{EasyChair:13709,
  author    = {Lucila Campiglia and Fabio Sandes},
  title     = {FUTURE OF THE PAST: Semiotic Analysis of Gucci's Futurist Renaissance Through Artificial Intelligence},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 13709},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2024}}