5 Luxury Brand NFTs Offering Customers Premium Web 3.0 Experiences
Did you think it was only artists and video game companies investing in NFTs? Guess again — every industry is exploring blockchain and metaverse opportunities, including high-end fashion houses. Companies like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry are already experimenting with unique and experimental projects. Here are just a few examples of luxury brand NFTs that may shape Web 3.0 for years to come.
What are luxury brand NFTs?
NFT stands for non-fungible token, a type of crypto token on the blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, NFTs are associated with specific assets or property. For example, they might represent ownership of digital objects in an online game, including outfits or collectibles. Alternatively, NFTs can validate the ownership of physical assets such as real estate or artwork.
Both examples are exciting to luxury brands because every NFT is unique by design. When no two tokens are alike, they can represent ownership of rare items — including luxury clothing. Fashion houses use NFTs to verify the authenticity of exclusive items while expanding their brand into digital spaces like online games.
Dolce & Gabbana: Collezione Genesi
Of all luxury brand NFTs, Collezione Genesi is the most financially successful by an enormous margin. This fashion collection from Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana produced an exclusive set of clothing and jewelry — two dresses, four suits, and three crowns — in both physical and digital forms.
With each purchase, Dolce & Gabbana fitted the real-world clothing items to match the customer’s physical measurements. Next, the digital culture marketplace UNXD animated an NFT-compatible variant of the outfit, customizing it for the customer’s favorite metaverse platform. Both physical and digital assets are rare luxury items, with only nine matching pieces in the entire set.
Unsurprisingly, the exclusive collection from two fashion legends was a massive hit. Collezione Genesi earned over $6 million by appealing to high-end buyers who crave limited pieces. While similar projects will likely never be available to the general public, Dolce & Gabbana undoubtedly consider the collection successful.
RTFKT: Fewo Sneakers
Many experts often compare NFTs to trading card markets, but for RTFKT, luxury sneakers are the ideal business model. RTFKT is known for creating Fewo, a digital sneaker brand for the Decentraland metaverse platform. Each shoe design is limited to a fixed number of NFTs, encouraging customers to act quickly before the line sells out. Each purchase also comes with a physical version of the sneaker, bridging the gap between real-world and online spaces.
RTFKT’s concept shows promise, and it always has new sneaker lines in the works to increase revenue. As of Q1 2022, Fewo’s NFT income sits at $3.1 million, inspiring Nike to acquire the company. While the precise terms weren’t disclosed, RTFKT was previously valued at $33 million.
Burberry: The Burberry Blanko
While some designers create their own tokens, often luxury brand NFTs emerge from collaborations. Burberry’s British fashion house is one example, working with Mythical Games to design an NFT collection for Blankos Block Party.
This multiplayer game takes the form of an online block party where players can socialize, take part in events, and collect digital vinyl toys called Blankos. An NFT represents each Blanko on the blockchain, including Sharky B — a shark emblazoned with the Burberry logo. Each Sharky B can be upgraded with in-game powers, increasing its value on an in-app Blanko marketplace.
While the project drove relatively modest revenue for Burberry — approximately $374 thousand — Sharky B’s scarcity and upgrade potential may increase its value over time.
Gucci: Gucci Aria
While many fashion houses are entering the NFT space today, Gucci was the first to do so for a good cause — providing access to COVID-19 vaccines. Gucci’s project was a limited-release digital film inspired by the brand’s Aria collection. The short video looks at Aria’s runway presentation from Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele.
As an exclusive short film, Gucci’s Aria NFT was less about releasing a product than testing the waters for NFTs in the future. Regardless, Gucci raised $25,000 for UNICEF USA with the project. Meanwhile, the fashion house is already pursuing other digital opportunities, including SUPERPLASTIC digital sculptures and a virtual Gucci bag that sold for a higher price on Roblox than its physical counterpart.
Louis Vuitton: Louis the Game
Louis Vuitton’s project is unique because it is the only example of a fashion house NFT that is completely free. To celebrate the 200th birthday of Vuitton’s founder, the luxury retailer produced Louis the Game, an app that revolves around NFT collectibles.
In the game, players control the Vuitton mascot, Vivienne, as she travels the world, seeking 200 candles that unlock stories about Louis’ life and career. In addition, the app includes 30 NFTs within its collectibles that cannot be resold in a marketplace, which makes Louis the Game a brand-building exercise.
That being said, Vuitton isn’t done with NFTs or Louis the Game yet. A recent update added ten new NFTs and other worlds to explore — suggesting that additional projects may be forthcoming.
Many luxury brands embrace NFTs, but the technology itself remains in an experimental phase. Some fashion houses may decide to sell them alongside physical assets. Others will opt for digital exclusives. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton will give them away as collectibles. With so many diverse ideas launching from luxury brands, one thing is clear — many exciting new projects are right around the corner. Curious about how your brand might incorporate NFTs into upcoming plans? Get in touch to learn more about how dSphere can help.
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