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- How the metaverse is taking over this year’s NYFW
How the metaverse is taking over this year’s NYFW
Puma’s web3 expansion, plus an upcoming Doodles x Louis Vuitton collab
🕶 Metaproof Fashion
Gm fashionistas! This is Sophia from 🕶 Metaproof Fashion, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse & web3 are changing the fashion industry.
Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse fashion news every Tuesday!
💌 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
The virtual fashion sector will be worth more than $55B by 2030, according to a US investment bank. Immersive fashion technology, incorporating digital fits, virtual stores, customizing virtual game avatars, and the use of NFTs mark a new trend around virtual runways and fashion displays. (Source)
NFT marketplace OpenSea has announced that it will temporarily charge 0% in marketplace fees and will default all collections to optional creator royalties starting at 0.5%. It has also adjusted its blocklist of other marketplaces that don't honor full royalty payments to creators, allowing sales on NFT marketplaces with the same policies. Excited to test this new model, OpenSea seeks to find the right balance of incentives and motivations for all ecosystem participants. (Source)
📫 News & trends
Digital fashion has made strides in brand/designer communication, although it has yet to be fully integrated into physical fashion weeks. This AW23 NYFW may have been one of the first to highlight its concept, both in official and unofficial events. See some exciting prospects here:
Web3 fashion platform Syky showcased digital design collections by six Syky community members, and the company recently closed a $9.5M funding round to back its mission as a marketplace and incubator.
Private Policy's AW23 collection We Are All Animals stunned through augmented reality (AR) and blended goth and grunge subcultures.
Zero10 partnered with Digital Fashion Week NY to bring five looks into AR.
Vivienne Tam's AW23 collection Weaving into the Metaverse, incorporating imagery of China's 12 zodiac symbols and web3 NFTs, was followed by an afterparty with access to both the physical and metaverse worlds.
BCBGMaxAzria released a 16-piece evening wear collection both physically and digitally in Decentraland with celebrity stylist Maeve Reilly and creative director Albino Riganello.
On February 14, Louis Vuitton announced that Grammy-winning musician and fashion icon Pharrell Williams had been appointed as the Creative Director of their Menswear line, with his first collection set to debut at Men's Fashion Week in Paris this June. According to the Wall Street Journal, Williams is the first African-American to be named the head designer for the luxury fashion house.
Williams can also be remembered as the Chief Brand Officer of Doodles, a social network that allows users to create and share animated content, where he will lead the development of the brand and its expansion into new markets. Doodles recently closed a $54M funding round and has partnered with Golden Wolf animation studio to bring the brand into mainstream entertainment.
The potential collaboration between the two brands is an exciting development in the world of fashion as both share a focus on design, creativity, and innovation, and with Williams at the helm, both brands have the potential to break new ground and create something truly unique.
Designer Vivienne Tam recently presented her Fall 2023 collection in dual show format and NFT form, both in New York's Spring Studios and the metaverse, providing fans with a new way to experience and own her creations. The show - which wardrobed or saw in attendance guests such as Christine Ko, Zoë Chao, Tati Gabrielle, Laufey, Ari Abdul, Vika Abbyaeva, and Richard Chang - took cues from the earlier collection, which heavily featured NFT iconography expressed as Bored Apes and Cyberkongs embroidered into physical clothes.
The brand was quick to note that Tam was “inspired by the futuristic utopian vision of a new Hong Kong, a place where web3, blockchain, gaming worlds, and immersive experiences cohabitate and collaborate.” It’s a blend of the real world and digital collectibles’ design language, linking up ancient pictograms of China’s 12 zodiac symbols featured and varying bluechip NFTs.
PUMA is launching its new NFT offering, Super PUMA PFP, touted to revolutionize the way consumers interact with the brand. This innovative platform provides tokenized access to exclusive products and a direct connection to PUMA’s timeless classics, giving consumers access to a range of exciting perks and experiences. As part of this launch, PUMA has also partnered with some of the most influential brands in web3 to help them grow and expand their offerings. Super PUMA is intended to be used across a range of products and initiatives, including clothing items, plush toys, and comic books – all available to holders and non-holders alike.
Luxury fashion brand CULT&RAIN is making waves in the world of web3 with its upcoming DROP 002 collection, which features a combination of physical items and digital wearables designed to connect customers with the brand's exclusive ecosystem through the use of cutting-edge technology.
DROP 002 includes NFC chips and AI-generated art, making it a truly unique and innovative collection. Holders of the collection will receive a range of rewards, including discounts and VIP access to the CULT&RAIN ecosystem. Simply scan the NFC chip on your premium hoodie to unlock a unique digital fashion experience; receive luxury shoes, exclusive airdrops, brand discounts, and VIP access to CULT&RAIN; and access unique content and benefits like rewards, token-gated access, brand updates, and more.
9dcc, a web3 fashion brand, recently announced the introduction of personalized Proof of Attendance Protocols (POAPs), which seeks to transform the way the brand interacts with NFT holders and allow them to trade and exchange their POAPs in a fun and engaging way. The World Connect experience launched by 9dcc allows holders to trade their personalized POAPs among each other.
In addition, 9dcc - launched last summer as “the first-ever crypto-native luxury house and lifestyle platform” - partnered with Firstmate to enable customers to pay for their purchases using a credit card rather than requiring a crypto wallet. It also included a reward system in its World Connect program, where two winners will be awarded prizes for distributing and collecting the most POAPs.
Clothing brand IKUZO has unveiled its latest collection designed with a focus on functionality, sustainability, and utility, featuring cutting-edge PBT smart chip technology, which allows it to function as both a physical and digital collectible. In addition to its aesthetic appeal, the collection offers practical features such as water resistance and durability.
The brand hopes to build a community around its products by enabling owners to unlock exclusive digital content through the smart chip technology. According to IKUZO founder and designer, the collection is "a fusion of fashion, technology, and sustainability,” which aims to "push the boundaries of what a garment can do."
🏃♂️Quick hits
Decentraland is holding an emote contest in celebration of its second annual Metaverse Fashion Week 2023. Participants can submit up to three emotes, with first place receiving 800 MANA and second to fifth place receiving 600 MANA.
Digital agency Blank Digital is bringing Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour Park on Decentraland for its 16th edition. The tour will include different zones where users could claim a free "Proof of Attendance NFT” and try on and purchase one-of-a-kind wearable NFTs based on designs by renowned designers, walk the ramp with the paparazzi snapping away, and many more.
Private Policy AW23 launched the collection We Are All Animals in collaboration with Zero10 to explore the relationship between humans and animals. The fashion items were created to be used in the metaverse, and featured elements from goth and grunge subcultures, as well as reclaimed denim and faux fur pieces.
Fashion and creative duo Dan Tse and Eugene Leung have gained recognition for their work in virtual worlds, combining art, CGI, fashion, film, and NFTs. Promoting small batch, slow fashion, they created Australia's first CGI fashion film and won several awards, including “Best Digital Fashion” at the Berlin Fashion Film Festival and “Best Created Environment” at the Sensei Film Festival.
Deloitte predicts the metaverse fashion industry may be worth up to $55B by 2030, thanks to new technologies such as virtual fitting rooms, in-store virtual assistants, and augmented reality "try-ons.” Brands are using AI to help reduce returns, blockchain tracking to help verify authenticity, fashion-tech wearables, and circular fashion marketplaces.
💸 Finance buzz
Adidas made a notable entry into the world of NFTs generating $10.95M in NFT revenue and $4.75M in royalties. Its first NFTs called Into the Metaverse were released and all 30,000 of them were sold within a few hours. (Source)
GQ Magazine is releasing its NFT collection, which includes 1,661 tokens linked to unique art pieces created by four artists.The tokens will be priced at 0.1957 ETH each and will be available to active members of GQ's Discord on March 8. (Source)
🗣️ Quote of the week
“We see a big learning curve. Our role is really brand education — operator support, strategic support as needed. But in the end, you’re really collaborating to come up with a presentation of your brand that resonates with that community. They’re the experts.”
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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.
Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse fashion news every Tuesday.