Luxury brands have turned out to be the early adopters of non-fungible tokens and metaverse technology globally. With both high-end fashion and non-fungible tokens operating on the model of exclusivity and scarcity, luxury brands have been highly receptive to the digital asset class. From Europe to China, many of the global leading luxury fashion brands have already launched innovative NFT and metaverse projects, and the trend is now catching up with players in the United States.

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The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has entered into a strategic partnership with The Sandbox for conducting an exhibition on the metaverse platform. As part of the exhibition, CFDA will present 60 American fashion looks from over the last 60 years to celebrate its 60th-anniversary celebration. Along with the event, exclusive NFTs are also up for grabs from some of the leading fashion brands in the United States. These include Michael Kors, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, and Carolina Herrera, among others.

A total of seven NFTs are up for grabs, each of which is associated with utility and perks. Michael Kors, for instance, is granting show access and backstage meet-and-greet to NFT buyers, while Tommy Hilfiger is offering an all-expense paid trip to the next show and Hilfiger-signed items. Coach, on the other hand, is offering a tour of its archives, physical handbag, and holiday event access.

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The fashion brands and CFDA have developed the exclusive tokens in partnership with Brand New Vision, the NFT platform, and are available for auction from December 12th to 16th. The extensive utility of the NFTs is reflected in their opening bids, which range from US$15,000 to US$25,000. 

Many European brands have been experimenting with exclusive NFT launches and other Web3 projects. Gucci and Louis Vuitton are among the many that have successfully forayed into the emerging markets of NFT and metaverse. These projects have also brought millions in extra revenue for these fashion brands. Gucci, for instance, is expected to earn over US$18 million through NFT sales in 2022, according to TechInsight360’s Predictive Analytics Platform. While some of the American fashion brands, like Tommy Hilfiger, have already forayed into the NFT and metaverse space, the sector is yet to gain mainstream interest among fashion brands in the United States.

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Through this event, the CFDA aims to place domestic fashion brands at the forefront of innovation in the metaverse and NFT space. This event will also force these fashion brands to delve deeper into the space. Furthermore, the push from CFDA is another statement that innovation in the metaverse and NFT space is going to continue and fashion brands are going to lead the projects in the space over the next three to four years.

While the NFT market has been under a slump for the majority of 2022, due to the ongoing sell-off in the crypto market, sales have recorded a strong rebound in November 2022.

For the first time in seven months, NFT sales reached US$530 million, thereby shrugging off the strong decline in the cryptocurrency market following the collapse of FTX. According to a report from CryptoSlam, the NFT aggregation site, sales during November 2022 surged by 13.2% in value terms, when compared to the sales number in October 2022. The NFT sales number were driven by blue chip collections including BAYC and CryptoPunks. In November 2022, BYAC experienced more than US$60 million in transactions.

With the recovery in NFT sales and the growing interest from American fashion brands in the digital asset class, TechInsight360 expects more innovative projects to hit the market from the short to medium-term perspective.