The luxury industry usually carries a traditional approach against what strength puts its legacy in danger, but the pandemic transformed everything and has forced businesses to make aggressive actions in the design and growth of their digital processes.
Luxury goods groups are becoming engaged in the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which describe the right of a digital (cryptographic) object or investment, constructed via blockchain technology. ‘Non-fungible’ signifies that the thing cannot be superseded by something else, indicating that the holder of an NFT is the individual proprietor of the digital purchase (what makes them the individual is the certification that takes place through blockchain, a method that controls and registers transactions and tracking).
Regarding NFTs, blockchain certifies creations of art, music, video games, amenity goods, or luxury brands’ content. Digital collectibles such as NFTs date heretofore to 2012 but it is just new that they joined the limelight, in art, amusement, amenity, and retail.
NFT represents multiple opportunities for luxury companies. Firstly, they are a tool to verify the authenticity and ownership of an item: counterfeit products are an issue for the industry and blockchain helps trace the origin of an item, its history, and previous owners allowing a product’s ownership to be easily transferred and products traced and re-sold. This feature is also very helpful in the secondhand market, by allowing consumers to verify their purchases.
NFTs can also be used to sell digital collectibles, by which we refer to limited edition or one-of-a-kind pieces of art and not real utilities. Many brands are creating short movies or paintings, also featuring collaborations with artists, and auctioning them through certified auction houses. The market for this type of NFT object is made up of collectors or wealthy consumers looking for rare digital collectibles.
NFTs have many other applications aside from virtual skins for avatars in video games. For example, they can be used to create digital worlds that are similar to real life where players interact and share experiences. This is especially important for Generation Z who enjoy playing esports and creating communities of players online. These activities provide them with luxury experiences, escapism, and the sense of belonging they crave.
There is a strong connection between fashion and luxury in gaming. Virtual outfits are an important part of the gaming culture, serving as a way to “dress up” avatars in the virtual world. This link has led to NFT sneakers being sold for $3 million within seven minutes in March 2021. Luxury has the same aspirational relevance in digital worlds that it does in reality – it is an asset used to differentiate oneself and express one’s worldview.
Virtual luxury is a concept that is viable and accessible to those who cannot afford the real version of it. It can be compared to diffusion lines in reality, where certain items or brands are available across multiple platforms.
Luxury brands are trying to speak to the younger generations by entering the gaming world. Gaming could also be considered a new way for luxury brands to connect with their target audience and create engagement with customers. By collaborating with gaming companies, luxury goods firms can develop parallel streams of revenue through capsule collections that first appear in games and are then sold in real life.
Gaming could help companies become more sustainable by providing numerous opportunities for individuals to try on and wear garments. Moreover, gaming can be used to create a “virtual try-on” in which people can see how a garment would look before buying it. This way, companies don’t have to produce full lines of seasonal collections; they only need to focus on producing limited pieces that are already popular thanks to feedback from gamers and the popularity of digital items.
In 2019, LOUIS VUITTON partnered with Riot Games in order to create a travel case for the LECUP TROPHY. This was followed by an actual capsule collection that was inspired by League of Legends.
Balenciaga joined forces with Epic Games to bring the first-ever high-fashion Fortnite skins into the game. This collaboration may also develop an in-game Balenciaga- themed hub and a real-world clothing line. In 2020, the brand launched its own game called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, to unveil its Fall/Winter 2021 collection through an adventure set in 2031.
It’s clear that the capability to buy and customize clothes for the player’s icon is a popular point of Animal Crossing, and it’s not surprising that fashion brands like Valentino would want to get in on the action by creating aesthetics specifically for the game. Collaborations like this can be a great way for fashion brands to reach new cults and promote their collections, and they can also be instigative for players of the game who have the occasion to wear unique and high-end apparel options in the game. It’s a great illustration of how the virtual world and the real world can cross and impact each other in intriguing ways.
The group partnered with Kara Chung; a shooter who made an Instagram account devoted solely to clothes used in the videogame@animalcrossingfashionarchives. also, the game’s generators at Nintendo organized the first-ever digital raw show, featuring garments from Prada, Chanel, Loewe, Bottega Veneta, and Marc Jacobs.
The event was organized during the 2020 epidemic and hosted during Berlin’s Reference Festival. The incorporations dissembled real-life raw with extreme perfection.
For its Fall 2021 collection, Gucci partnered with the art transaction house Christie’s on an NFT videotape called Aria, which ended in June 2021. The piece ended was a born-digital, looped videotape of roughly four twinkles, directed by Alessandro Michele and Floria Sigismondi. It’s a unique piece of work that can not be altered, replaced, or duplicated. Gucci will contribute all proceeds from the trade of Aria to UNICEF USA to support COVAX, an action aimed at icing equal access to COVID-19 vaccines. Gucci also launched a hall section on its app, allowing druggies to have fun with the brands ’ most representative products and to partake in results with the community. In October 2020, the sustainable collection Off the Grid was featured in the rearmost The Sims game.
Burberry designed outfits for the Honor of Kings characters, 32 one of the most popular videotape games in China. The new skins developed for the game, and available only for Chinese players, point to Burberry’s hand fosse fleece and tartan.
Dolce & Gabbana’s first NFT collection targets the company’s traditional followership which generally buys high-end products rather than the youngish, crypto-fat gaming request. It was presented during the company’s fashion show in Venice in September 2021. The collection was inspired by Venetian cultural traditions and the first NFT transaction was called ’ Dress from a Dream ’( inspired by a dream from the contrivers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana). The pieces of the collection were auctioned on the UNXD business.
In April 2021, LVMH, Prada Group, and Richemont joined forces to produce the Aura Blockchain Consortium.34 This makes it possible for consumers to pierce the product history and evidence of the authenticity of luxury goods — from sourcing to deals, and alternate-hand requests. In September 2021, OTB joined as a fourth institute member. The ambition is to set norms for luxury assiduity relating to the invention, translucency, and blockchain technology.