As the frenzy for crypto assets hits new highs, Italian luxury fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana has entered the space by releasing a collection of luxury fashion non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which have set a new record by selling for over $6 million. Calling this auction "the most successful digital fashion drop ever," the fashion brand has promised that more such NFT collections will be released in the future as well.
NFTs use blockchain to record the ownership of digital items such as images, videos, collectibles, and even land in virtual worlds. NFT sales volume surged to $10.7 billion in the third quarter of 2021, up more than eightfold from the previous quarter, According to NDTV.
Dolce and Gabbana clearly saw an opportunity in the space and the brand launched a one-of-a-kind, 9-piece collection personally designed by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The collection, named 'Collezione Genesi', debuted exclusively on UNXD, a curated marketplace for the best of digital culture, which helped conceive the idea.
As per the New York Times, the Collezione Genesi collection is said to be the most complex fashion NFT created and offered so far. The company reportedly raked in $6 million for sale.
"These prices are not surprising," said Nick Jushchyshyn, program director for Virtual Reality and Immersive Media at Drexel University. Jushchyshyn explained that any time world-renowned designers construct something unique with great attention to detail, it holds value and that it makes sense that there would be an NFT collector who would see this value.
Dolce & Gabbana said of the pieces: "It is a celebration of human artistry and craftsmanship. Of what humans can do that machine simply cannot on their own. These creations, both digital and physical, are magical. They took thousands upon thousands of hours to craft. They will 100% end up in a museum one day."
The New York Times reports that purchasers included Pranksy and Seedphrase, two leading NFT collectors; Boson Protocol, a company building a crypto-commerce protocol; and Red DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization formed in the crypto community to invest in digital fashion.
"We are moving toward a virtual reality world, and when we get to that state — sooner than we think, in a matter of years — luxury goods will be part of that world." Said Merav Ozair, a leading expert on blockchain and FinTech professor at Rutgers Business School.
Sources: New York Times, NDTV