Nike’s site-crashing .SWOOSH sneaker release

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…

👟 Nike’s wildly successful .SWOOSH NFT sneaker sale

 👚 Prada and Gucci digital collections

🪞 Smart mirrors in retail

🔥 Hot links

Nike's $1M NFT sneaker sale debut on .SWOOSH [Link]

The highly anticipated virtual sneaker sale on Nike's .SWOOSH web3 platform may have been persistently delayed and left fans frustrated, but for Nike it’s a raging success: surpassing $1M in sales amid the technical difficulties.

Why it matters: This reveals a strong demand for virtual products from well-known brands, demonstrating the commercial potential of web3 technologies despite teething problems.

How it happened: Initially planned for May 8, the "First Access" sale launched on May 15, with 106,453 poster NFTs distributed as early-bird tickets to select users. The subsequent "General Access" sale started on May 24, aiming to sell the remaining NFT inventory. Over 66,000 NFTs have sold so far, each priced at $19.82 as a nod to the original Air Force 1 sneaker release year.

However, the launch was repeatedly delayed due to technical issues and high traffic, frustrating prospective buyers. Nike's team hinted that sales might be slower than expected. As of now, over a third of the OF1 NFTs remain available.

The delays: The platform initially postponed its sale to "finetune" the rollout for a "seamless" experience. However, once live, the platform frequently crashed, leading to a disjointed minting experience that spanned hours. "Traffic issues" triggered more delays.

The numbers: By May 17, over 85,000 OF1 boxes were still available, which slightly reduced to around 83,000 by May 22. However, on May 25, Nike announced that over 55,000 boxes had been sold to over 30,000 unique buyers, describing the sale as successful.

Looking ahead: Despite the hiccups, it is clear that demand for branded NFTs is strong, even though the user experience still needs refining. This provides a glimpse into the potential future of fashion and retail in the blockchain era. Nike's continued efforts could shape this nascent landscape.

Prada, Gucci go floral, vintage, and digital

Two luxury fashion houses unveil their latest chic moves in web3.

Prada releases its 42nd Timecapsule NFT collection featuring special-edition tank tops crafted from upcycled floral jacquard terry cloth, straight from the Prada archive.

• Each clothing piece comes with an exclusive NFT, enabling holders access to the Prada Crypted community on Discord for benefits and invites to exclusive events.

Gucci, on the other hand, rolls out the limited-ed Vault Summer collections, designed solely for Vault and available exclusively online on gucci.com.

• Established in 2021, Vault is an innovative online store boasting a unique collection of rare vintage Gucci pieces, alongside capsule collections, limited-ed styles, and fashionable picks from an array of brands.

Both luxury labels are no stranger to innovation: The digital initiative Prada Crypted kicked off in late 2019 and, since last year, the fashion giant began issuing NFTs that serve as digital authenticity certificates for its exclusive physical goods.

Gucci has an expanding presence in the metaverse, consistently creating with the web3-based community via NFT collectibles and virtual experiences.

Smart mirrors optimizing digital fashion [Link]

What used to be the key ingredient of Retail 3.0 some decade ago is getting an upgrade with new tech: smart mirrors, specifically AR mirrors, for retailers to build engagement and inform buying decisions.

The details:

• Similar to AR filters on phones, smart mirrors can comprise digital apparel and accessories as well as product details, gaming prompts and elements to enhance the appearance of the viewer’s environment.

• They can track the body, following people as they twist and turn, and also detect and respond to specific motions, such as a swipe of the hand, to change the outfit.

Some brands that have played around smart mirrors include Nike, Men’s Wearhouse, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, and Mugler.

Why this matters: Most iterations of early smart mirrors did not include AR, so now the tech is getting a much-needed upgrade.

AR mirrors offer a peek into a post-smartphone future where shoppers “see themselves wearing virtual fashion in real time, in the physical world, in full body and not through a small rectangle they hold in their hands.”

Laneige’s immersive K-beauty virtual store [Link]

South Korean makeup and skincare brand Laneige unveils an immersive virtual store in collaboration with experiential retail platform Obsess.

The digital venture, which Obsess says has garnered 85M+ user interactions so far, features animated room setups inspired by product lines, 360-degree visuals, behind-the-scenes content featuring its collab with Sydney Sweeney, as well as gamified experiences.

What this reflects: The beauty industry’s flair for the digital, launching one immersive and interactive virtual store after another in the name of better customer engagement. Think of L’oreal, NYX, and other beauty giants using web3 to their advantage.

Obsess has previously partnered with Elizabeth Arden and Laura Mercier to help launch their dedicated 3D-branded spaces, mostly in a bid to bolster consumer exposure, engagement, and purchase behavior.

RSTLSS x Claire Silver digital fashion mint [Link]

An AI soul trapped within a portrait: This is how Pixelgeist - a collaboration between RSTLSS, founded by Charlie Cohen, and AI artist Claire Silver - comes about as a never-before-seen artwork collection on the RSTLSS platform.

More details on the digital fashion mint:

• Each RSTLSS x Silver mint includes the artwork, a garment featuring the artwork, and a game-ready avatar wearing the garment.

• Claire Silver's exclusive collection of 183 artworks offers a variety of editions, from 1/1 to 1/17, limited to 2,136 mints and exclusively executed on the RSTLSS desktop mint site.

• It introduces a total of 6 garments, with 4 new types making their debut, with 3 of the six silhouettes designed by the collaborating artist herself.

Why this matters: It’s yet another show of getting dressed in the metaverse via an interactive experience, allowing users to influence the final product. During the minting process, for instance, collectors answer 2 questions that determine the mix of artwork and garment, with a bonus random accessory based on the user’s answer at the time of minting to make it deeply personal.

Teens as emerging luxury label market [Link]

Teenagers emerge as a lucrative target demographic for high-end brands. The younger generations - including Gen Y, Z, and Alpha - will become “the biggest buyers of luxury,” representing 80% of global purchases by 2030.

Key stats back up this claim:

• Gen Z consumers are buying luxury items some 3 to 5 years earlier than millennials.

• The spending of Gen Z and the even younger Gen Alpha is set to grow 3 times faster than other generations’ through 2030, making up 1/3 of the market.

What this means: To lure young consumers, the luxury industry is adopting a youth-focused strategy, actively branding themselves as young, approachable labels.

Active engagement in social media is one move to open up luxury’s shopper base to the younger ones, as well as web3 and metaverse activations that enhance engagement via virtual store exposure, personalization, and partnerships with digitally native brands, and even the use of AI brand ambassadors.

🔥 Hot Links

• From virtual fitting rooms to smart contracts, here are hot tech trends dominating the fashion startup world. (Link)

• Virtual fashion try-on firm Zyler launches a virtual try-on tool to be automatically integrated into any retailer website. (Link)

• Anonymous artist Str4ngeThing harnesses AI to create Renaissance-inspired surreal fashion in footwear. (Link)

• Meet Maya, Myntra’s first virtual fashion influencer of Walmart-owned e-commerce platform Myntra. (Link)

• AI is shaking things up in fashion design via advanced algorithms that can analyze and predict trends. (Link)

• Bridal wear Pronovias names Marc Calabia Gibert as its new CEO and replaces Omandine Ohayon, who has held the brand portfolio toward the metaverse. (Link)

• The Singapore Fashion Council, working toward the local sector’s digital transformation, sees fewer fashion design graduates. (Link)

• Fashion brands can leverage web3 to create new biz models, implement anti-counterfeit measures, and enhance customer interactions via personalization. (Link)

• AI singers like AI Jay Chou, AI Eason Chan, and AI Stefanie Sun are booming across China - but not without legal concerns. (Link)

• Fashion brand Ambush and retail incubator Terminal jointly introduce a unique range of digital collectibles. (Link)

• As a semester-long collaborative course between Roblox and Parsons ends, students and faculty consider what fashion’s future might look like. (Link)

• As craftsmanship meets code, Draup founder Dani Loftus takes on generative fashion and couture. (Link)

• Kids’ shoes in focus: Clarks returns to the metaverse with Playprints World on Roblox. (Link)

• Discover how NFTs are used in fashion and wearables. (Link)

• Watch out: With the industry using it for everything from campaign imagery to shopping assistants, generative AI could perpetuate fashion’s biases. (Link)

• Virtual changing rooms, smart mirrors, and avatars could ease some of plus-size consumers’ complaints. (Link)

• Dive into Zara’s capsule collection Fairy Magic Idols, which mix physical and digital aspects. (Link)

• With its parent company newly acquired by Vertex Labs, Hape will introduce a new staking program for its community members. (Link)

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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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