🕶 Metaproof Fashion

Gm fashionistas! This is Sophia from 🕶 Metaproof Fashion, the weekly newsletter where we update you on how the metaverse & web3 are changing the fashion industry.

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💌 A quick thanks to our friends…

This edition is sponsored by the OG metaverse fashion peeps The Fabricant. They have been deep down the metaverse fashion rabbit hole since 2018 and are pioneers in every sense of the word. They are on a mission to change the fashion industry and are making great progress - check them out today!

📲 By the numbers

• In a Shopify survey of 900 small businesses across 14 countries, 75% said they expected interacting with customers in the metaverse to become commonplace. (Source)

• 76% of people who know what the metaverse is want their avatars to express their creativity in ways they can’t in the physical world, according to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s “New Realities: Into the Metaverse and Beyond” report. (Source)

• A digital Caroline Herrera gown sold for $5,000 on Roblox in September. (Source)

📫 News & trends

🔥 Prada, Moncler, and other top fashion NFT drops of 2022

It’s the year when luxury NFTs burst onto the web3 scene, with a journey marked by a slow warming up to the idea of NFTs at the start of 2022 to luxury’s biggest players openly embracing the virtual assets with one launch after another. Some of the remarkable drops include:

• Prada’s Timecapsule NFT series, a monthly token drop commenced in the summer with a virtual take on 100 gender-neutral shirts designed in collaboration with artist Cassius Hirst.

• Tiffany & Co.’s controversial CryptoPunk pendant, a limited-edition run of Cryptopunk-inspired pendants exclusively available to members. The token, which allowed holders to transform their own CryptoPunk into a custom-designed physical item, came with a whopping $50,000 price tag.

• RTFKT x Nike’s MNLTH NFT unlocking IRL Cryptokicks, with the design integrating self-lacing capability, lights, wireless charging, and an “RTFKT WM Chip (NFC)” to bring next-gen innovation to the sneaker space.

As 2023 gears up to be a time for web3’s widespread recognition, take a look at this Jing Daily roundup of top NFT drops in luxury this year.

😎 A new road ahead: Diesel unveils first stage of long-term web3 strategy with NFT collective Hape

Gen Z-favored brand Diesel has partnered with NFT collective Hape to release a new series of digital collectibles in January 2023. Besides both labels coming together to launch the NFTs, a brand ambassador will also reside in the Hape community and the wider web3 arena, a mascot providing Hape brand partners with a persona to “introduce, express, and craft” the brand narrative within the NFT platform. Included in the collection is a limited-edition design of Diesel’s celebrated 1DR POD crossbody bag along with access to exclusive events and community benefits. OTB, Diesel’s parent company, launched its first metaverse-focused initiative in 2021 to oversee product development for the virtual realm.

🌇 The best of BoF: Technology’s tumultuous year

In 2022, NFTs were down but not out. TikTok was up. AI made it bigger in the fashion space. Business of Fashion’s top stories demonstrate metaverse and web3 fashion as some of the year-defining trends, marked by business decisions like giving every clothing item a digital identity. These stories include RTFKT and Nike’s vision for the future through their smart sneaker bridging the digital and physical worlds, and what happened with fashion and NFTs as the problem plaguing web3 creatives and hopefuls unfold and put into question fashion’s future use of the technology.

🌍 Vivienne Tam: Runway to success

Vivienne Tam has returned to the Hong Kong stage recently, teaming up with Hong Kong pop royalty Leon Lai and showcasing her web3-inspired spring/summer 2023 collection from New York Fashion Week (NYFW) held in September. The show’s opening couldn’t be more metaverse-savvy: models in outfits emblazoned with blue-chip NFT avatars, from Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks to CyberKongz gorillas and Awkward Astronauts. The designer is bent on bringing more color and feminine energy to web3, highlighting the need for imagination and creativity and “both the physical and the virtual to complete ourselves.”

💚 How virtual clothes could help solve fashion’s waste problem

The fashion industry is increasingly tapping into the blockchain and other digital tools to reduce waste and push itself into a more sustainable future. Italian company Lablaco, for instance, works with fashion brands to digitize their collections in the “phygital” market, where customers buy a physical item and its digital “twin,” designed to be collected or worn by avatars in the metaverse and other virtual environments. Pushing fashion into digital spaces helps produce data instrumental in moving toward circular fashion, they Lablaco owners argue, adding that the transparency of blockchain also means the new owner can be assured of its authenticity and the item’s creator can follow the after-sales journey.

💋 L’oreal x Ready Player Me: More makeup for the metaverse

Two of the L’oreal Group’s brands, Maybelline New York and L’Oreal Professionnel, are providing 10 hair and makeup looks that can be used across the cross-game avatar platform Ready Player Me, available on more than 4,000 apps worldwide. With avatar customizations that include five trendy hairstyles and five makeup looks designed with artist Yvan Rochette, L’oreal’s intent is not to duplicate realistic looks but to inspire creativity and offer customers tools they may be unable to explore IRL. The global beauty giant joins the ranks of companies like TRESemme and NYX Professional Makeup in entering the virtual world, as the global metaverse market is forecasted to grow 43.3% by 2028 and incur a value of $828.95 trillion.

👓 Flipping the script in 2023: “The web3 vision will fade into the rearview”, predicts Casey Newton

2023 might be the year that brands invest in meaningful technology products and experiences designed to empower the business and strengthen their long-term strategies. But what tech solution should they invest in? How deeply? When? Fashnerd asked industry experts in fashion, innovation, sustainability, policy, technology, and retail to weigh in on what one can expect from the coming year. Hype Partners VP for Metaverse Enara Nazarova argues that the novelty of the metaverse and web3 has officially worn off, and what follows is the professionalization of solutions delivering on promises of higher engagement, cost reductions, accessibility, and sustainability. For futurist Bernard Marr, NFTs will become more usable and practical, possibly the key to interacting with many of the digital products and services people buy.

⚖️ Fashion law in 2022: Some of the year’s noteworthy lawsuits

It’s an eventful year in fashion law, when fashion brands tested the waters of the metaverse to connect better with consumers and generate revenue from new streams. A notable lawsuit filed this year is by Nike against StockX, alleging that the marketplace site committed trademark infringement and dilution along with counterfeiting and false advertising. This was in connection with its offering of NFTs tied to images as well as physical versions of Nike footwear, sans the brand’s authorization. Countering Nike’s claims of selling the NFTs “at heavily inflated prices to unsuspecting consumers,” StockX says the NFTs at issue are little more than “claim tickets” or “digital receipts” used to “track ownership of a physical Nike product that StockX has authenticated. Its argument: the sale of the sneakers (and corresponding NFTs) is within the realm of the first sale doctrine.

👧🏽 Jillian Mercado on being a voice for the Latinx and disability communities

The metaverse’s efforts at inclusivity stand in contrast with the fashion world, which continues to struggle to cast disabled people in major runway shows or editorial spreads, says 35-year-old model and L-word actor Jillian Mercado. "There's times where I get frustrated — we are still not given the credit we are due. If any brand [or] company preaches about inclusivity and doesn't have the disability community be a part of that, then it's not. There are no excuses for it,” she adds. Her take on what the industry needs to do: craft and produce pieces with more intention, depending on the needs of the disabled person, because they, too, enjoy fashion.

🇬🇧 Luxury brands, the metaverse and NFTs: the issues and opportunities in the UK

From creating exclusive and personalized experiences to selling digital assets and tailoring unique loyalty programs, forward-thinking luxury brands are having a grand time in the metaverse, setting the tone and foundation for the future of the fashion sector. The legal framework around assets like NFTs, however, can be vague and confusing. With the increased popularity of digital fashion, for instance, comes potential exposure to infringement; brands are urged to focus on preparing and revamping their intellectual property portfolios, including a cohesive licensing agreement and marketing strategy around their NFTs.

💰 Women and web3: How to prepare your career, money, and personal brand for the metaverse

Women have some catching up to do in the world of web3 and the metaverse: out of 121 of the world’s leading crypto companies, only five included a woman founder. In the NFT space, 77% of NFT sales go to male creators while women form less than 20% of the market. For fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff, whose eponymous label has delved fearlessly into the metaverse, here are some key steps when diving into a meta-career:

• Repetitive and consistent communication and messaging matter in a web3 strategy

• Strategic partnering is everything

• Take the chance to expand your existing customer base

💸 Finance buzz

• North Carolina-based House of Blueberry has raised $6M from two investors to ramp up its metaverse participation with styles distinguishing avatars in video games like Roblox and The Sims. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

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