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Writer's pictureSrishti Sahni

NFT's, the metaverse and sneakers - Decoding the hype

Updated: Oct 15, 2022

Would you rather spend thousands of dollars on sneakers that you can't wear and touch or buy couture off of animated characters?


That's the beauty of innovation. It gets you into year-long online queues to buy a decentralized, digital public ledger token that can be safely traded, with transaction history recorded to a blockchain to provide transparency around authenticity and ownership - presenting to you NFTs.


Bored Apes or Bored Ape, is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection built on the Ethereum blockchain
Bored Apes or Bored Ape, is a non-fungible token (NFT) collection built on the Ethereum blockchain

NFTs i.e Non-fungible Tokens are often produced using the same kind of coding as cryptocurrencies. These cryptographic assets are built on blockchain technology, to put it simply. They cannot be traded or exchanged in the same manner as other cryptographic assets.


Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), or often colloquially called Bored Apes or Bored Ape, is one such non-fungible token (NFT) that created enormous hype within the streetwear market. This collection built on the Ethereum blockchain. and features profile pictures of cartoon apes that are procedurally generated by an algorithm. Most of these top Bored Ape NFTs – digital art that people either use to make art galleries or pin up to their wall in a frame in their NYC penthouse – still go for over $120,000. And to top it all off, Bored Ape #6588 just sold for $1.17 million.


Stores were closed as a result of the epidemic, and fashion weeks became "old Vogue issues." Brands resorted to video games like Fortnite, Roblox, and Animal Crossing to keep audiences interested and their consumers happy. This not only made it possible to reach new audiences through Fashion NFTs but also to find new ways to keep people interested, through Digital scapes, such as the metaverse.

Imagine a virtual world where you can live, work, shop, and connect with others — all from the comfort of your couch in the physical world. Welcome to the metaverse
Metaverse, a virtual world where you can live, work, shop, and connect with others — all from the comfort of your couch in the physical world.


The metaverse is a concept of a persistent, online, 3D universe that combines multiple different virtual spaces. You can think of it as a future iteration of the internet. The metaverse will allow users to work, meet, game, and socialize together in these 3D spaces.


Fashion NFTs come in various shapes and sizes, including digital twins of actual objects and virtual clothes that users may wear in virtual settings. Within the metaverse, NFTs act as intermediaries for asset ownership.

FEWOCiOUS, the 18-year-old digital designer collaborated with RTFKT, created 600 pairs of NFT sneakers alongside 2 ranges of merchandise.
FEWOCiOUS, the 18-year-old digital designer collaborated with RTFKT, created 600 pairs of NFT sneakers alongside 2 ranges of merchandise.

Last year the company RTFKT collaborated with a young artist known as FEWOcious to produce digital sneakers, and it made a sale of USD 3.1million on digital sneakers in minutes. And this is still not enough to the demystify the vast compass of NFTs and sneakers in the metaverse


With emerging blockchain-backed worlds like Decentraland and The Sandbox boasting millions of registered users, brands also allow customers to wear their digital products like sneakers -jordans,yeezys- through the metaverse.


Following the trend, couture houses and fashion maisons like Gucci, Dolce Gabbana, Louis Vuitton have also released NFTs in collaboration with famous creators and hosted shows in the Metaverse. One of the physical dresses created by Dolce & Gabbana and designed by UNXD sold for about $820,000.


Dolce & Gabbana NFT Drop Sets A New Record In Fashion NFTs At $6.1 Million
Dolce & Gabbana NFT Drop Sets A New Record In Fashion NFTs At $6.1 Million

The goal of D&G is to give buyers a variety of unique brand content. Dolce & Gabbana brand sold a nine-piece NFTs known as Genesis collection (Collezione Genesi’) by auction for $5.7million. Shortly after, the crypto value soared by 10 percent, thus raising the collection’s worth to $6.1million.


On the other side of such extravagant displays by couture brands, others, such as Overpriced, are using NFT technology to improve traceability – its physical NFT-linked hype hoodie can be scanned to prove authenticity and ownership through the blockchain.

With increased demand and associated sense of pride with the hint of “uber coolness” for, exclusive content and digital collectibles have become an identity statement. Chinese Gen Z customers spend 61% of their money on luxury products in "pursuit of fashion," whereas 24% and 45% of them feel that these purchases give them confidence.

Burberry has jumped on the bandwagon, launching its first-ever digital item as part of its B Series release.
Burberry has jumped on the bandwagon, launching its first-ever digital item as part of its B Series release.

As the first luxury brand to appear in the game Blankos Block Party, Burberry just debuted a range of (virtual) vinyl toys there. Similar to this, Louis Vuitton decided to develop its own game, in which users may explore several realms and gather 30 embedded NFTs. Upon acquiring enough points, players can enter a lottery to win an ultra-rare NFT, which is transferable between platforms and can be used as a distinguishing avatar on social networks.


Speaking on this upcoming culture, renowned fashion designer Manish Malhotra said- “​​The concept is borderless; imagine concert tickets, artist payments, and property within the NFT space! Everyone's getting to own multiple of them; it's already becoming an important component of learning projects. Not just art, even the invoices of your art might be NFT soon. The space is ideal for getting Indian craft and technology under one unit. We got into it initially to test the waters, but after its successful response, we can't wait to explore its horizons”.

To conclude on that note, regardless of where you come from or who you are, you can be a part of the online fashion community and join the top 3D creators, designers, brands, and artists in transforming the digital fashion industry.



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Simran Raina
Simran Raina
Oct 11, 2022

Fascinating read!

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