In this article we are going to explore digital clothing brands, luxury fashion NFTs, and find out why fashion houses are so crazy about the new digital fashion market.
Why do brands launch their own NFT collections?
NFT clothing increases the value of any garment sold, since the buyer knows for sure they own the original model, and not a fake.
In 2021, LVMH, Bvlgari, Cartier, and Prada joined their efforts to create Aura Blockchain Consortium, their own blockchain group. Thanks to this system, buyers can track the origin of luxury goods and confirm their authenticity.
Aura Blockchain Consortium
Another advantage of NFTs is that in case of resale, brands receive royalties from each new transaction. These NFT resale conditions can be pre-determined and built into the blockchain, which, in theory, means infinite profit. Obviously, luxury brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Prada can gain a lot from NFTs. In the meantime, consumers see such projects as a worthwhile investment.
Who is conquering the metaverse?
First things first, there are digital fashion brands specializing exclusively in augmented reality clothing. The Fabricant, for instance, was the world’s first digital fashion house to sell a virtual dress for $9,500. Auroboros is another interesting digital fashion brand.
Inspired by biomimicry, it combines science and technology with physical couture as well as digital-only ready-to-wear. Check out this dress made from crystals and recycled plastic that changes colour and shape in real-time.
Nature meets technology in the Auroboros debut collection
DressX is the world’s first and largest digital clothing marketplace. The retailer sets out to provide clothes that exist in their digital-only versions in addition to giving young designers, such as Tribute Brand, The Dematerialized and others a platform to sell and distribute their creations.
The Dematerialised x Tribute Brand’s NFT
The greatest interest, however, is still generated by the already well-established high-fashion brands dipping their toes into a new market niche and launching their own NFT projects.
Gucci
Luxury brands such as Burberry, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger are already selling NFTs at their virtual fashion shows in the metaverse. Gucci became the first luxury brand to launch its own NFT project. It was Aria, a four-minute fashion film created by Alessandro Michele together with director and photographer Floria Sigismondi as an accompaniment to the real-life fashion show.
The video centered around universal themes of hope, growth and renewal was sold for $25,000 at Christie’s art auction. All proceeds were donated to UNICEF USA in support of the initiative ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The Gucci Dionysus purse: real vs. digital
Gucci also sold a digital-only version of their famous Dionysus bag on the Roblox gaming platform for $4,100, which is $715 more than the physical version of the bag! However, this Roblox purse is not an NFT and thus has no value outside the Roblox world and cannot be transferred anywhere outside it. And one for sneakerheads – Gucci has recently come out with a pair of digital neon-coloured sneakers called The Gucci Virtual 25.
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana collaborated with luxury brand marketplace UNXD to create Collezione Genesi, their debut digital collection made up of 9 pieces (5 items of physical clothing with virtual copies and 4 exclusively digital items).
Модели коллекции D&G Collezione Genesi
The entire collection was auctioned off for $6.2 million. In addition to the NFTs, buyers received original sketches of the works, a private atelier tour, and, finally, access to Dolce Gabbana’s most exclusive event of the year: Alta Moda couture.
A digital D&G look, sold for more than $1m
UNXD also launched a $10 million Culture Fund to invest in NFT brands and ultimately expand the use of non-fungible tokens in the fashion industry.
Balenciaga
Balenciaga collaborated with Fortnite and released special skins for the game. In-game digital clothing is based on the items from the real-life Fortnite X Balenciaga collection.
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton went even further and created their own adventure game called Louis the Game in honor of the founder’s 200th anniversary. 30 NFTs were hidden inside the game, 10 of them designed in collaboration with Beeple, a renowned NFT artist. The Louis Vuitton digital experiment seems to be going well, as the game has already been downloaded over 500,000 times.
Nike
Nike also decided to dive headfirst into the metaverse and bought RTFKT Studios (pronounced “artifact”), a company specializing in digital sneakers. “This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture,” Nike’s president and CEO John Donahoe stated.
Adidas
And finally, one of the most recent NFT collaborations – Adidas and Bored Ape Yacht Club, whose NFT collection entitled Into the Metaverse gives customers the opportunity to get exclusive merchandise and access to unique digital services. The collection consisting of almost 30,000 NFT tokens sold for 0.2 ETH ($765) each fetched about $22 million in total in a sale that closed within a few hours.
Nike, Jordan, Converse, RTFKT
Digital clothing, whether by well-known brands or newly-created digital fashion houses, has turned from a sci-fi concept into an everyday thing. And with more and more players entering the NFT market, it seems like soon everyone will have digital garments to wear in photos, social media posts, and games.
An exclusive Adidas x Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT hoodie
Adidas sold out its collection of almost 30,000 NFTs for of 0.2 ETH (Ethereum) or about $765 each within a few hours after launch and made about $22 million in total.
Digital fashion brands and old-school fashion houses are racing against each other to set up shops in the metaverse. More and more players are entering the market, so to get the attention and money of the public, they’ll need to come up with something really impressive. And those already in the crypto game are already actively promoting their NFT projects and reaping the benefits.
