Vision Pro headset in 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…

🤖 Fashion’s use of Apple’s Vision Pro

🧳 Louis Vuitton’s iconic trunks as $41K NFTs

✨ Swarovski’s trademark filings in the metaverse

🔥 Hot links

How fashion will use Apple’s Vision Pro headset [Link]

The newly launched Apple Vision Pro headset has got tongues wagging and people speculating on the future (or present) of wearables. Amid clunky headsets and glasses from Meta and Snap, fashion insiders are looking ahead into new iterations of these headsets selling for $3,499 - and their potential applications in the industry.

3 key possibilities:

• Vision Pro can enable a more digitally immersive future for consumers, where brands can design the experience appropriately based on a digital strategy.

• Volumetric video through the headset can reimagine the “catwalk experience” and enable it inside one’s own home, essentially letting any environment grow more immersively around shoppers.

• Apple’s AI-assisted avatar creator tool, also launched at the same event, can be a complementary tool allowing for photo-realistic avatars. It can allow fashionistas to create their own look, mix and match items from various designers, and apply them on a body with realistic resemblance to theirs.

Louis Vuitton’s iconic trunks now $41K NFTs [Link]

Behold French luxury house Louis Vuitton’s iconic travel trunk, now a collection of phygital Treasure Trunks marking the first time that the brand is selling NFTs and providing customers with an access pass to future products and experiences.

The VIA Treasure Trunk, the virtual counterpart of its celebrated trunk first sold some 160 years ago, costs €39,000 ($41,755) apiece, with only several hundred pieces to be made available. The project comprises traceability and event-focused NFTs that will reward holders.

Why this is big in luxury: Amid a relatively quiet year for web3, LV goes phygital and dives deeper into the NFT space. “Via,” the Latin term for road, is a nod to the label’s goal of forging an elite path toward experiences that are hard to acquire for others - a key trend in branded NFT initiatives.

This latest move affirms LV’s previously stated outlook on NFTs, where LVMH chief exec Bernard Arnault hinted last January 2022 the applications of the metaverse and NFTs to the company’s brands.

Swarovski’s glittering leap into the metaverse [Link]

Global jewelry brand Swarovski has filed trademark applications associated with the metaverse, signaling its intention to delve into virtual realms and explore new industries.

The news, disclosed on Twitter by trademark attorney Michael Kondouis, sparks curiosity and speculation among enthusiasts as the trademark applications cover a wide range of products including cosmetics, VR glasses, and digital files authenticated by NFTs.

Why this development sparkles: While filing a trademark application doesn't guarantee an immediate release of an NFT line or metaverse offerings, it signals Swarovski's interest in exploring these avenues in the future, as aligned with its current revamp strategy that’s set on becoming more profitable and finding new talent.

New drops from digital fashion purveyors

• CULT&RAIN unveils on its hyperrealistic metaverse CULTR WORLD the experience CULTR PAD, which offers personalized digital rooms like The Mothership, Theater, DJ Room, and Gallery for a distinct experience. CULTR PAD is the digital native brand’s latest bid to advance virtual shopping and create a community “that thrives in the intersection of fashion, technology, and culture.”

• House of Blueberry and Rebel Girls collaborate to offer a digital fashion drop, immersive games, digital content, and a virtual launch party to celebrate and promote female content creators, girl gamers, and XR fans on Roblox. Both labels will release 8 digital assets as part of their exclusive fashion collection, and interested participants can purchase these assets using virtual currency Robux, thus monetizing user-generated content.

• The Fabricant and Highsnobiety team up for a limited-ed collection at Not In Paris during Paris Fashion Week. The collection - priced at 33 Flow ($24) and available on The Fabricant starting June 21 - features three unique designs, including the Echoes of Paris jacket, which showcases patches that create a mesmerizing slow-motion visual spectacle when in motion.

🔥 Hot Links

• Fashion tech insider Jessica Couch’s app helps stylists monetize their influence. (Link)

• Farfetch’s luxury accelerator Dream Assembly Base Camp moves beyond its core focus of visually appealing digital fashion startups like DressX. (Link)

• The WWD Tech Symposium mulls over the future of fashion. (Link)

• Forever 21 deploys a new customer data platform (CDP) to bring omnichannel shopper information into a single location. (Link)

• 62% of Gen Z prefer to buy sustainably - and luxury brands are on it via blockchain and web3. (Link)

• Platform CALA lets you launch and run a clothing line with a single prompt. (Link)

• Drapers Fashion Tech Week 2023 launches and probes how businesses are innovating for a new fashion retail era. (Link)

• The metaverse is a “natural progression” into the digital transformation going on in the fashion industry. (Link)

• For China’s Gen Z, luxury is an immersive digital-first experience, not a transaction - one reason many Western luxury brands are losing out in this market. (Link)

• ​​Tribute Brand x Chromie Squiggles for generative sweater collection ODDS. (Link)

• Students from Manchester Metropolitan University’s Manchester Fashion Institute develop and experience immersive VR apps. (Link)

• AI-powered design tools facilitate digital sketches and 3D renderings, allowing designers to iterate and refine their ideas more quickly and efficiently. (Link)

• Fashion startup Seamm uses Snapchat’s AR try-on to reduce online returns. (Link)

• Prada releases its 42nd NFT collection, another milestone for its groundbreaking web3 initiative Timecapsule. (Link)

• London-based fashion designer Charli Cohen collaborates with Blizzard Entertainment for the much-anticipated game Diablo IV. (Link)

• eBay embarks on streetwear authentication. (Link)

• Fashion needs to stay on the pulse with new tech and automation on offer such as AI and ChatGPT, urges the PI Apparel Supply Chain Forum 2023. (Link)

• The Swedish Textile Machinery Association drives sustainability through digitalization. (Link)

• In China, AI-generated models are massively popular - and sexist in their doe-eyed, big-breasted appearance, horrifying women. (Link)

• A Madrid uni offers summer courses in fashion and AI for Spanish high school students. (Link)

• How does ChatGPT figure into the fashion tech space? Ask Zalando. (Link)

• P3rson, a mobile app in the modeling and influencer industries, implements ChatGPT in beta. (Link)

• Fashion retailers hype clothing try-on in virtual changing rooms before making an online purchase. But is it all over for the metaverse? (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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