Lacoste gamifies fashion

Hello hello! Welcome to all our new friends! And to our current friends – thanks for coming back for this week.

This week we are covering…

🐊 Lacoste launches new gamified web3 experiences

👟 Dior puts B33 sneakers on Ethereum

💬 Metaverse roundup: Big moment for Zepeto and AVØLVE, Burberry’s botched metaverse trademark

🔥 Hot links

Lacoste launches new gamified web3 experiences [Link]

French heritage brand Lacoste dives deeper into web3 via its new Underwater (Undw3) card, forging blockchain-based brand engagement and loyalty.

Here’s how the new initiative works:

• Holders can connect their digital wallets to a dedicated, token-gated website to access experiences and earn rewards.

• Digital game The Mission, which involves several chapters containing specific missions, enables users to receive points and climb their way to the leaderboards, increasing the rarity of their UNDW3 cards. Top performers get digital vouchers, while the highest-ranking player will clinch an all-expenses-paid VIP Parisian experience.

• Users can enter locked Discord channels, attend events, and co-create Lacoste products.

Lacoste’s fashionable ‘why’: Its latest initiative allows Lacoste to reward its customers and go beyond “transactional interactions,” touting blockchain tech’s ability to “live activity, creativity, and conversation with utility and reward - something nearly impossible to do with web2 infrastructure and tech.”

Lacoste’s web3 history includes its 11,212 Undw3 Genesis Pass NFTs in June last year.

Dior puts B33 sneakers on Ethereum [Link]

Dior's Men's Fall 2023 collection introduces the B33 sneakers with a revolutionary online authentication system and NFT integration. The finer details:

• Each pair of sneakers is linked to a unique NFT on the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring authenticity and security.

• There’s a limited collection of 470 pairs, priced at $1,350, with 6 additional variations featuring NFC chips and personalized online platforms.

Dior's move into blockchain tech aligns with LVMH's broader interest in web3 and crypto. Its strategic decision to avoid explicit blockchain terminology, however, reflects a desire to explore the tech without any associated baggage.

Metaverse roundup: Big moment for Zepeto and AVØLVE, Burberry’s botched metaverse trademark

• Korean tech giant Naver is setting its sights on globally expanding to compete head on with rival virtual worlds. Its metaverse platform Zepeto, a bustling online destination for brands with its 400M+ users, has partnered with Ralph Lauren, Bulgari, Nike, Adidas, as well as K-pop stars Blackpink and actor Selena Gomez. Yet it has a bit of catching up to do with its US counterparts, considering premiere digital fashion offerings on Roblox or Fortnite maker Epic Games’ LVMH collab for virtual shows and fitting rooms.

• In the same vein, web3 platform AVØLVE is bent on creating a high-end digital fashion house that seeks to facilitate expression, opportunity, and utility in the space. Its 1st NFT drop, dropping on June 29, consists of 4,000 avatars made to thrive in high-end virtual worlds and marry digital fashion and gaming culture.

• Unlike these recent wins, British luxury fashion house Burberry’s attempt to register an EU trademark for NFT-related products and services has been partially refused by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for almost all of the goods and services listed in the application, except downloadable interactive characters, avatars, skins, video games, and more.

• The grounds for refusal: lacking distinctiveness, as the check pattern used is not markedly different from other patterns usually used in the trade for the goods and services for which an objection has been raised.

Consumers favor digital fashion shows in new survey [Link]

A new survey reveals that a majority of consumers in Europe, the US, and Australia fully support virtual fashion shows, as echoed by 86% of respondents in the UK and 63% in Finland. The UK also has the highest awareness of the metaverse, with 70% of respondents familiar with the concept.

The survey, which covers 11 countries, delves into 4 major themes shaping the current state of fashion: music festival fashion, fashion weeks, the metaverse mindset, and gender fluidity.

What might explain the findings: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward digital fashion shows and hybrid formats. Metaverse Fashion Week, an entirely virtual show, demonstrates added benefits like reduced emissions and wider accessibility.

Diablo IV apparel kicks off [Link]

Fashion designer and digital creator Charli Cohen has unveiled an exciting and innovative collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment's highly anticipated game Diablo IV.

The game-themed apparel, sold at a pop-up in London's Selfridges department store, features:

• Standout pieces like the Diablo denim jacket, bustier, and "upcycled" jeans

• Early 2000s nu-metal aesthetics and character Lilith from Diablo IV

• Embroidery of phrases from the game, adding to its thematic appeal

On the cool tech side, it’s incorporated with AR capabilities through NFC chips, which provide a virtual certificate of authenticity when scanned with a smartphone. The tech then unlocks immersive AR experience, allowing the wearer to "summon" Lilith through a voice-activated Snap Lens.

Why this matters: The collaboration not only brings fans closer to the virtual world of games but also showcases digital fashion’s growing expertise in uniquely merging tech, fashion, and sustainability.

🔥 Hot Links

• Mango invests in Union Avatars, a digital avatar creation platform that will take part in the Spanish retail group’s startup accelerator program. (Link)

• Dior’s NFT-connected sneaker has got some fashion insiders crying out: Overpriced Puma dupe! (Link)

• Blockdown Festival in Portugal focuses on the “intersection of web3 (a new internet concept) and culture,” such as fashion, music, sports and gaming. (Link)

• Sustainability, digitalization, and secondhand emerge as top trends in Deloitte's Global Fashion & Luxury Private Equity and Investors Survey 2023. (Link)

• The Metaverse and NFT offer innumerable opportunities, and Pet Liger creator Constantinos Panayiotou has fashion enthusiasts in a chokehold with his accessories that take inspiration from 90s manga images. (Link)

• Meanwhile, Barbie-foot heels are all the rage right now. (Link)

• Fashion is increasingly embracing holography, a cutting-edge tech that uses light to create 3D images. (Link)

• Here’s what the classic favorite Teletubbies looks like in the fashion metaverse. (Link)

• Michele Zanello is a visionary from Italy reimagining fashion’s future, starting his journey as an entertainment manager to becoming a metaverse fashion trailblazer. (Link)

• From Phantom of the Opera to Hamilton: In the spirit of high fashion, Buzzfeed asks AI to design shoes based on Broadway musicals. (Link)

• 3D printing news on digital fashion, 3D printed boulder replica, and more. (Link)

• Brands need to go beyond simply digitizing their existing collections - it means embracing the interactive, user-driven nature of digital fashion. (Link)

• A timeline of Adidas’ web3 journey and a stylish teaser of ALTs season two. (Link)

• How retailers can right-size their inventory via AI. (Link)

• German fashion retailer Zalando sues EU over the landmark Digital Services Act, where it’s the only European company on the list designated as "Very Large Online Platforms." (Link)

• In conflict-ridden Congo, the 9th ed of the Liputa fashion show showcases creativity as an opportunity to inspire peace and coexistence across Africa. (Link)

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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