Thinking about all the Avatars in virtual worlds that need variety of clothing items to stand out, and knowing that NFTs can provide scarce and unique wearables that all users would love buying. Fashion brands are already interested in using NFTs and the metaverse to showcase, sell and archive their precious products. Many passionate and experienced professionals in the industry already believe that exactly fashion is the next big thing for NFTs.
As the industry officially begins to recognize the power of digital and its immeasurable impact on the future of the market, The Cryptonomist is monitoring closely everything that is happening and how the fashion brands are not only embracing the technology but are firmly stating and believing that Web3 is here to stay.
A great is example is the german sportswear brand Puma who has launched its metaverse website experience Black Station to celebrate its return to the runway, placing it back in the running as one of the major sportswear leaders in the Web3 space alongside competitors Adidas and Nike.
Puma Black Station is providing its customers with an engaging experience alongside digital collectibles. Consumers can enter the Black Station to find limited quantities of NFTs and physical sneakers.
“Given the boundaries we are pushing from a product design and digital standpoint, we found it fitting to bring Black Station back as a new portal for digital exploration across fashion, sports performance, our heritage classics, and innovation,”
said Adam Petrick, Puma’s Chief Brand Officer in a statement.
Entering the website can choose a hyper-realistic digital lobby with three different portals that are explicitly designed in order every visitor to experience the never-before-seen sneakers. For instance, they revealed two new exclusive sneakers, the Nitro NFRNO and Nitro Fastroid sneakers, which are linked to NFT Nitropass. Consumers can mint NitroPass to receive NFTs linked to physical products which can be claimed once their ‘Futuregrade’ fair is over.
Customers minting the Nitropass can get access to two NFTs where one is linked to a redeemable physical product, while the second one grants them access to an experience linked to their chosen physical sneaker.
We all understood something big is happening when last month during the New York Fashion Week, the Creative director of Puma June Ambrose mentioned about the Web3 experience that they hav been working on and has also shared details about the NFTs that are unlocking access to the exclusive sneakers. But more interesting than the technology was an A.I. of her own making.
“I wanted to create something fresh and magical for a runway experience that really tapped into our A.I., our authentic intelligence.”
We would like to remind The Cryptonomist readers that back in June this year, the company Meta (formerly Facebook) announced its launch of an online store where you can pay real-life money for digital outfits. Nike was one of the first who also created a virtual world where everyone can play games and style your avatar with virtual Nike gear, launching Nikeland — also in Roblox — featuring games, entertainment and, of course, virtual sneakers and other goods via NFTs.
And it is selling them. Dune Analytics found that Nike had brought in more than $185 million in NFT sales as of Aug. 22, according to Quartz. Dolce & Gabbana had $26 million, while competitor Adidas raked in just $11 million, despite having 50,000 sales to Nike’s 67,000.
In December, Nike bought NFT studio RTFKT (pronounced “artifact”) to up its already intense NFT game.
