NFTs in fashion and luxury
We are just one month into 2022 and it seems NFTs are the hot topic du jour in the fashion and luxury industry with brands like Balmain, Prada, Gap, and Lamborghini making their NFT debuts. On February 1, Gucci, who was among the first luxury fashion brands to get into the NFT market (their first-ever NFT was a four-minute-long fashion film), dropped their second NFT, SuperGucci, in collaboration with digital character brand Superplastic. In March, UNXD is teaming up with Decentraland to host the first virtual metaverse fashion week. UNXD is a NFT Marketplace built on a polygon network that had earlier launched Dolce & Gabbana’s NFT collection, Collezuone Genesi that had fetched a whopping $5.65 million.
According to Morgan Stanley’S 2021 report, by 2030, the NFT market is estimated to reach $300 billion. Of this, $56 billion will be in the luxury goods segment spearheaded by brands like Gucci, Kering, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. Txampi Diz, CMO of Balmain, considers NFTs as a powerful customer engagement tool for high-fashion brands. “I believe it is going to completely change the fashion industry, and it will have the same impact as when social media first started or when the internet first launched,” he says.
According to Vogue Business Index (Winter 2021) 17 per cent of brands in the Index have already ventured into the NFT space while brands like Gucci and Balenciaga have also filed for trademarks related to metaverse products and technologies.
This indeed is a long way from April 2019, when The Fabricant auctioned a digital dress for $9,500 auctioned on the Ethereum cryptocurrency blockchain — the first of its kind. The dress, a virtual garment called ‘Iridescence’ is regarded as the first high-fashion NFT.
The year of Fashion NFTs: 2022 has begun with luxury brands dropping NFTs; here are a few key moments till now
Balmain x Barbie NFT: Barbie has entered the metaverse and she is dressed in Balmain! Last month Balmain in collaboration with Mattel Creations released a Balmain X Barbie collection consisting three one-of-a-kinds NFTs for unique Barbie and Ken avatars. Balmain x Barbie is a 50-piece, limited-edition capsule, is designed by Olivier Rousteing, and features genderless ready-to-wear and accessories. The NFTs are three Barbie avatars clad in digital versions of garments from the physical collection. While Balmain is an NFT veteran, Mattel had launched Hot Wheels NFT Garage™ last October.
The GAP hoodie: GAP forayed into the NFT space this January with a collection is designed by Brandon Sines, the artist behind Frank Ape. Built on the built on the energy-efficient Tezos blockchain, the limited edition drop is a gamified digital experience that allows customers to purchase a limited-edition digital Gap hoodie.
Prada re-source: Prada teamed up with Adidas to launch its first NFT in January this year with a crowd-sourced digital artwork. The project, named ‘Adidas for Prada Re-Source’, is an unique one where 3000 chosen collaborators created and minted their own tokens using original images on a Polygon platform, and these were later made into a collage by digital artist and coder Zach Lieberman and the composite NFT was put up for auction.
While this is Prada’s NFT debut, the German sportswear brand had earned a whopping $23 million from its first NFT drop last year. It had sold 29,620 NFTs from its Into the Metaverse collection for 5,924 ETH.
SuperGucci: Gucci, in collaboration with digital character brand Superplastic, dropped SupperGucci NFTs on February 1. It is a three-part series and the first instalment is of 10 NFTS. Each NFT is accompanied by a limited-edition handmade ceramic sculpture, which is co-designed by Gucci’s head of design, Alessandro Michele and Superplastic-created virtual celebrity artists, Janky and Guggimon. Gucci was among the first luxury fashion brands to get into the NFT market. In June 2021, it had dropped it’s first-ever NFT, a four-minute-long fashion film inspired by its Aria collection.
Lamborghini’s Space Time Memory: Lamborghini dropped its first NFT called ‘Space Time Memory’ earlier this month. Italian automaker collaborated with artist Fabian Oefner to develop 5 art pieces for this. The NFT has two components. The digital one is a photograph depicting a Lamborghini Aventador Ultimate being launched from the Earth’s atmosphere. The tangible item is a piece of 3D-printed carbon fiber Lamborghini had dispatched to the International Space Station in 2019.
Mercedes: The German car manufacturer launched a G-Class-inspired NFT collection at Nifty Gateway a few weeks back. The project, done in collaboration with crypto artist collective ART2PEOPLE has five international artists from the NFT space interpreting the G-Class and creating unique art pieces.
The ‘Birkin’ of contention: Why is Hermès’ fuming?
The Birkin NFT: Birkin bags are considered as the ‘holy grail of handbags’ for its exclusivity, long waitlist, and price point — in 2012 the brand had launched three “Sac Bijou” Birkins priced at $2 million each. In January this year, LA-based digital artists Mason Rothschild along with Eric Ramirez created a riff on Hermès’ iconic handbag. Titled Baby Birkin, the single NFT artwork is a 2000 x 2000 animation in 3D max featuring a baby in all stages of pregnancy in a transparent Birkin, was sold for $23,500. Mason Rothschild followed it up with the Meta Birkins project, which consisted 100 individual furry Birkin bag NFTs, which can be acquired and also resold. In December, one such was sold for a whopping $42,000, according to Business of Fashion.
This has of course not gone down well with Hermès’ and IN January 2022 the brand sued Rothschild for trademark infringement. While Rothschild claims that he is not creating or selling fake Birkin bags, but merely making artworks,, Hermès’ has accused the artist for appropriating of Hermès’ trademarks and hit him with a cease and desist. This has opened up a Pandora’s Box and triggering ‘ownership’ debate of NFTs inspired by physical branded.
Biggest fashion brands in the NFT space
Louis Vuitton
In a unique fashion and gaming crossover, the French brand launched a mobile game called LOUIS THE GAME on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of its late founder. It included a treasure hunt of thirty hidden collectible NFTs including ten designed in collaboration with Beeple.
Where: Louis Vuitton’s website
When: September, 2021
Dolce and Gabbana
The Italian luxury fashion house sold a one-of-a-kind nine-piece collection of fashion NFTs designed by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, for a record $5.7 million. Dubbed Collezione Genesi or the Genesis Collection, it was co-produced and auctioned on UNXD, a curated marketplace for digital luxury and culture.
Where: UNXD
When: October 2021
Burberry
Burberry NFT were limited-edition Blanko dubbed ‘Sharky B’ for Mythical Games’s Blankos Block Party. Blancos are digital vinyl toys featured in the multiplayer party game. Burberry also launched in-game NFT accessories that can be worn by the Blancos.
Where: In-game purchase to all Blankos Block Party players
When: August, 2021
Givenchy
The French luxury brand collaborated with Mexican graphic artist Chito for a collection of 15 NFTs. Chito x Givenchy NFTs, that can be used as online avatars or profile pictures, boast pop-art, air-brushed characters, and symbols incorporating unique prints created for Givenchy’s Spring 2022 pre-collection.
Where: OpenSea
When: October, 2021
Jimmy Choo
In a high-fashion meets street art moment, Jimmy Choo collaborated with New York-based street artist Eric Haze and fashion designer Poggy on an NFT piece. The NFT featured a digital-only sneaker with a canvas of Haze’s signature script as the backdrop. The highest bidder however was also given a limited-edition hand painted pair of sneakers. There were also 8,888 mystery boxes available for purchase.
Where: Binance NFT Marketplace
When: October, 2021
RTFKT/Nike: Last October, Nike acquired RTFKT to accelerate its “digital transformation.” RTFKT, a startup founded in early 2020 is one of the pioneers in designing and creating digital collectible, which the company term as ‘Metaverse-ready sneakers and collectibles’. Earlier in 2021, the startup had teamed up with 18-year-old transgender artist Fewocious and dropped three NFT sneakers for $3,000, $5,000 and $10,000, which sold off like hot cakes — in the first seven minutes over 600 pairs of these virtual shoes were sold for a total of US$3.1 million. RTFKT had also collaborated with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami for a project called CloneX. According to the company, it was their “most ambitious project yet,” and marks the beginning of an ecosystem for its Metaverse-ready avatars.
The Chain Reaction
Apart from NFTs, blockchain technology is also turning out to be a game changer for the fashion industry. In May 2019, LVMH became the first major fashion conglomerate to introduce blockchain-based tokens to authenticate items. A year later, Prada and Richemont teamed up with LVMH and formed the Aura blockchain consortium. In January this year, the consortium launched Aura SaaS, a cloud-based solution aimed towards helping the luxury industry incorporate blockchain in their day-to-day business operations. Last year NFTs conquered the ramps at the fashion weeks as well. Last year, the digitization of high fashion, with the introduction of blockchain and non-fungible tokens, got a nod from the Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week, the biggest event for fashion trends and forecasts. Not only there were brands announcing their NFT gigs, but the La Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), the organizer of the Fashion Week also announced its own NFTs in collaboration with Arianee, a French NFT platform. The free NFTs handed out to select guests comprised of an accreditation to the fashion week events and a one-of-a-kind digital painting by renowned fashion illustrator Richard Haines.
