Syky’s digital fashion incubator

Hermes' new MetaBirkins win, Givenchy’s Pride Month in the metaverse, fashion game DREST’s cool $19M funding

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…

🛍️ Syky Collective: Digital fashion incubator takes off

👜 Hermes secures further win against MetaBirkins

🏳️‍🌈 Givenchy celebrates Pride Month in the metaverse

🔥 Hot links

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“The more [fashion] houses that can exist at a grassroots level that can scale, the more creative, more inclusive and more diversified the fashion industry will be. When we look back in 100 years' time, although there's been a lot of work done to break down barriers and diversify, it’s still a very gatekept industry.”

Digital fashion platform SYKY founder and CEO Alice Delahunt

Syky Collective: Digital fashion incubator takes off

A first-of-its-kind program launched by ex-Ralph Lauren chief digital and content officer Alice Delahunt, the Syky Collective from luxury digital fashion platform Syky seeks to launch the next big name in the space.

The finer details:

  • The year-long incubator will launch 10 digital designers that include fashion house Pet Liger, artist Stephy Fung, photographer GlitchofMind, digital artist Calvyn Dylin Justus, spatial computing artist Taskin Goec, visual artist Fanrui Sun, fashion label Nextberries, 3D artist Gustavo Toledo, shoe designer Felipe Fiallo, and immersive creator Jacquelyn Assar.

  • Their collections will be sold on the Syky platform with a possible physical product roster, where in exchange Syky will take 5% ownership in the business.

  • The creatives will receive coaching and mentoring based on Syky’s proprietary curriculum, as well as one used and crafted by the British Fashion Council, to scale their products and customer base.

Why this matters: Syky Collective joins a host of other fashion creative startups and investors in enabling web3, where the leaders consider now a critical “build mode” for innovators and brands in the space to create and establish long-term strategies.

Hermes secures further win against MetaBirkins [Link]

A Manhattan federal court issues an order that permanently prevents Mason Rothschild from selling his MetaBirkins NFTs, securing a final request from French luxury house Hermés following its legal victory over the NFTs earlier in 2023.

Key details of the new and previous rulings:

  • The order permanently significantly restricts the future use of MetaBirkins, such as barring Rothschild and associates from marketing, selling, and minting MetaBirkins NFTs.

  • While Rothschild is prohibited from providing any benefits to Metabirkins holders that would incentivize the NFT purchase, he’s required to airdrop Friday’s court order to people that currently hold the tokens.

  • In February, a jury sided with Hermés on its claim that Rotschild violated the trademark for Birkin handbags via his line of 100 MetaBirkins NFTs, which are digital tokens associated with photos of fur-covered, patterned handbags.

Givenchy celebrates Pride Month in the metaverse [Link]

GIVENCHY/VANILLE VERLOËS

Givenchy Beauty steps into the rainbow this Pride Month by presenting the Givenchy Beauty Pride Gallery, a collaboration with bem.builders to explore inclusivity and LGBTQIA+ through Givenchy's luxury codes.

Key highlights of the exhibition:

  • Hosted on the metaverse platform Spatial, where visitors can immerse themselves in a beautifully designed space with floating islands and artwork. Users can complete a quest comprising a hunt for hidden collectibles, culminating in a Givenchy beauty badge.

  • Showcases the works of talented artists Vanille Verloës, Sam J, and Edgar Fabian Frias.

  • Runs until July 6 and for fans to experience it on Givenchy Beauty's Instagram and TikTok platforms.

Virtual try-on, new tech shake things up in beauty

In the ever-growing landscape of beauty and fashion, providers of new tech ranging from AI to AR/VR solutions try to carve out a space in the market. These include:

  • Google announces an AI-powered virtual try-on (VTO) feature on June 14, leveraging advanced AI algorithms and incorporating diffusion and cross-attention techniques to merge model and clothing images. The tech giant supposedly doesn’t intend to monetize the feature but instead promote its widespread adoption and usage.

  • AR company Perfect Corp. integrates artificial intelligence with generative content (AI-GC) in its virtual smart trials, with plans to extend its presence into fashion and delve into accessories, jewelry, and apparel.

  • Snapchat continues to popularize AR among consumers. Beauty brands Supergoop and OPI have partnered with it on its AR try-on lens tech, letting users apply 4 Supergoop Lipshade colors and allowing shoppers to try on 8 OPI nail polish shades through Snap AR tech called Nails Segmentation.

How this sets the tone for the beauty sector going forward: By engaging with the digital fashion revolution and its nifty tools, beauty brands tap into a new wave of creativity, empower customers with new modes of engagement and try-before-you-buy solutions, and stay at the forefront of innovation.

Luxury fashion game DREST lands $19M metaverse backing [Link]

DREST secures $19M (£15M) in new funding, launching a new version of the platform with luxury fashion and beauty collections, challenges, user-generated content, and digital fashion from FARFETCH and brands, and where players can find, style, and purchase collections.

The recent investment round was facilitated by the family office of DREST co-founder and co-chair Graham Edwards. Edwards, along with co-chair Lucy Yeomans - the former global content director for NET-A-PORTER and editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar UK - founded DREST with a shared vision to unite gaming and fashion.

Lisa Bridgett, CEO at DREST, expressed her enthusiasm for the future amid “a tough market.”

"We are now ready to take the business to the next level and offer a new one-of-a-kind experience to our users while maintaining the core elements of the game."

🔥 Hot Links

  • Anti-AI casual couture? VETEMENTS’s SS 2024 collection draws inspiration from themes of exaggerated couture, streetwear, and AI. (Link)

  • The colorful quartet of Teletubbies launches in the metaverse with House of Blueberry and via a 130+ piece virtual clothing capsule collection exclusively available in online world Second Life. (Link)

  • Nigerian AI artist, fashion designer, and filmmaker Malik Afegbua creates a fashion show for the elderly. (Link)

  • Digital fashion may be accused of being non-physical, lacking tangibility, and therefore importance - but how about the sheer level of creativity, inclusivity, and personalization it affords? (Link)

  • Luxury luggage brand Rimowa rolls into the metaverse via the immersive world Tmall Luxury Provision. (Link)

  • A new platform offers AI-recommended B2B purchasing from extensive Japanese designer collections. (Link)

  • The global personal luxury goods market is projected to grow by 5-12% YoY in 2023, with US luxury shopping slowing down while it’s on the rise in Europe. (Link)

  • Cross Reality (XR) - an umbrella term encompassing VR, AR, and mixed reality - is changing the way customers experience style. (Link)

  • UK fashion retailer Debenhams is preparing to launch a dedicated division for premium brands as it repositions itself as a digital department store. (Link)

  • After the inaugural Metaverse Beauty Week (MBW), where is beauty tech heading next? (Link)

  • How phygital retail enables brands not just to deliver immersive experiences but also slash costs. (Link)

  • From Stars to the Floral Room, Gucci Visions takes visitors through its 102 years of vibrant and trailblazing fashion iconography via the metaverse and the physical Florence exhibition. (Link)

  • In stylish India, Indyverse is a phygital platform catering 3D fashion experiences and a Digital Trial Room delivering engagement while shopping. (Link)

  • Fandom-centric fashion brand Her Universe hits San Diego Comic-Con to celebrate Disney’s 100th anniversary with an immersive experience. (Link)

  • “Godmother of the metaverse’’ Cathy Hackl on melding technology with fashion. (Link)

  • The female and male fashion advice subreddits are protesting Reddit’s API changes and recent actions toward moderators: Now, posts on those subreddits must be about fashion from the 1700s. (Link)

  • The Africa Fashion exhibit at Brooklyn Museum concludes with “Global Africa,” which explores how the digital world accelerated the expansion of Africa’s influence in the fashion space. (Link)

  • Fashion outlet platform Otrium and climate tech startup Vaayu probe the environmental impact of off-price fashion using AI and machine learning. (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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