According to a report by Anna Tong for Vogue Business, which was published earlier today, fashion brands have been “studying the wild, wacky world of blockchain and all its creative and business possibilities” and are now “poised to jump in.”
Vogue Business says multiple industry sources are confirming that several luxury fashion houses preparing to release NFTs. Marjorie Hernandez, founder of blockchain startup Lukso, told them:
“The question is just who will pull the trigger first. Luxury brands were behind on the e-commerce trend, so there’s now more of a willingness to experiment with new technologies like blockchain.“
Clothia, “a fashion designer collective that enables emerging fashion designers worldwide to connect directly to customers”, currently has several dress NFTs for sale at auction, such as the one below, which has a reserve price of 3.5 ETH:
This NFT “depicts an organza and eco leather dress, made entirely by hand using haute couture techniques in fashion designer Aska’s atelier in St Petersburg, Russia.” It can be “redeemed for a physical dress matching this design, made to custom specifications.”
Clothia Founder and CEO Elena Silenok told Vogue Business:
“NFTs could be similar to how fashion brands see bridge or diffusion lines. Just like how a Chanel lipstick is more accessible to customers than a Chanel handbag, luxury brands can use NFTs to give more customers access to their brands.“
And futurist Cathy Hackl, CEO at the Futures Intelligence Group, stated:
“As we move into a more immersive web, every fashion brand will need to have a virtual strategy. Selling virtual dresses and assets will be a significant revenue stream for brands.”
According to a report by Quartz, on March 18, at the virtual Vogue Business and TikTok Technology Forum, Ian Rogers, currently Chief Experience Officer at Ledger, but also Chief Digital Officer at French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH between October 2015 and December 2020, said:
“There’s no reason that today you couldn’t buy a bag, get an NFT.”
He also said:
“Luxury is the business of building identity. You don’t buy a luxury handbag because of its incredible utility. You buy it because the brand has built culture, and that culture is something you want to be a part of.“
The Quartz report went on to say that Robert Triefus, Executive Vice President, Brand and Customer Engagement, at Gucci, said at the same event:
“It’s a world that still has to be understood. For us at the moment we’re looking at experiments and pilots where values are attached to certain experiences or digital products so that we can understand what the value system is.“
