TOP 10 METAVERSE FASHION NEWS OF THE WEEK 03.13.2023
$373.2 MILLION IN 60 STARTUPS - METAVERSE FUNDRAISING REPORT FOR FEBRUARY
In February 2023, angel investors, VC funds, and banks showed us their interest in web3, having invested $373.2 million in 60 startups.
Metaverse Fundraising Report for February by Metaverse Post
An environment startup called Carbonplace received $45 million. The industry was also present in the previous month when three environment companies raised $14.3 million.
Four messaging startups got $43 million from VC funds and angels. In January, the industry saw two startups receive a total of $8.3 million. In November, one messaging company raised $10 million. The industry is evolving, and we might see greater consumer interest as web3 becomes less niche.
Nine NFT-related startups come next, with the result of $41.5 million raised altogether. Of course, the number is not as impressive as it was in August when NFT companies received $186.4 million. However, the rounds mean that the industry is still growing despite the fact that the NFT bubble burst by the end of 2022.
Gaming Industry Trends
Massive multiplayer online roleplaying NFT-based game Worldwide Webb raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Pantera Capital. The startup will use the funds to expand the team, integrate more NFTs into the game, and form partnerships with brands. In addition, the studio plans to launch a browser-based game called “Blockbusterz” in the upcoming weeks.
India-based Kratos Studio raised $20 million in a seed round led by Accel. Among the other participants are Prosus Ventures , Nexus Venture Partners , Courtside Ventures , and Nazara Technologies Limited . Notably, the startup also acquired a sub-DAO of Yield Guild Games DAO, IndiGG.
Massive multiplayer online game Chainmonsters raised $1.5 million. The game will soon be launched on the Epic Games Store.
Curio raised $2.9 million in a seed round led by Bain Capital Crypto. TCG Crypto, Robot Ventures, Smrti Lab , FormlessCapital , and angel investors backed the round. The company will continue developing its blockchain-based games.
“Despite the tremendous growth and innovation we have seen in the on-chain gaming space, we haven’t seen that many innovations that would truly differentiate the on-chain gameplay experience from that of traditional games,” - noted the co-founder of Curio, Yija Chen.
Azra Games raised $10 million in an extended seed round. Andreessen Horowitz, NFX , Coinbase Ventures, Play Ventures , and Franklin Templeton Investments participated in the round. The company will use the funds to develop the NFT-themed Legions & Legends.
Yield Guild Games raised $13.8 million in a private token sale led by DWF Labs. Among the other participants are a16z Crypto, Sangha Capital Fund, Galaxy Interactive, Sanctor Capital, and former corporate attorney at Google David Lee. The company will use the funds to continue developing its initiatives.
“The token purchase signals the confidence of our partners in YGG’s mission of empowering gamers through web3 gaming,” - said the co-founder of YGG, Gabby Dizon.
Gaming-focused infrastructure startup Nefta raised $5 million in a seed round led by Play Ventures. Polygon Ventures, Sfermion, SevenX Ventures, and Picus Capital are among the other participants. The company plans to expand its team and scale its offering according to the demand for the product.
Empires Not Vampires raised $1 million in a seed round led by Shima Capital . Zee Prime Capital , FIREX Capital, Fomocraft Ventures, Firex Capital, Starter Capital , and Devmons participated in the round. The startup will use the funds to develop its blockchain-based multiplayer game, Paradise Tycoon .
The NFT Gaming Company, Inc. announced the pricing of its $7 million initial public offering. The startup allows users to mint unique cross-game avatars.
The decentralized gaming platform in the Polkadot ecosystem, Ajuna, raised $5 million in a private financing round led by CMCC Global.
Tower Pop, the game studio behind Omega Royale, raised $2.1 million from Play Ventures , Agnitio Capital , and Santiago R. . The studio will use the funds to develop its web3 Battle Royale game.
“We’re creating something completely new, something that has never been done before in the gaming world: a Battle Royale Tower Defense game utilizing the blockchain,” - said the founders of Tower Pop.
Web3 mobile gaming development studio and publisher Mino Games raised $15 million in a round led by Standard Crypto. Among the other participants are Collab + Currency, Boost VC, Konvoy Ventures, and Earl Grey Capital. The studio uses web3 to build a direct relationship between the community and the developer.
Bibliotheca DAO, the community behind the massively multiplayer on-chain game Loot Realms, received $3,970,473 in a public token sale. According to the Decentralized Autonomous Organization, the participants will be refunded 84.25% of their investments.
Metaverse Industry Trends
Avalon Corp., a gaming studio that develops an interoperable metaverse, raised $13 million in a round led by Bitkraft Ventures, Hashed, Delphi Digital, and Mechanism Capital. The other investors include Coinbase Ventures, Yield Guild Games, Avocado Guild, Merit Circle, and Morningstar Ventures.
Phi, an on-chain immersive social gaming world, raised $2 million in a seed round led by Chapter One and Delphi Digital. Polygon Ventures, Stani Kulechov , and other noted angel investors backed the round. The startup plans to accelerate the development of UI and UX and add new social and gaming features.
Play-to-own Martian metaverse game Million in Mars received $3.5 million in a round led by Widus Partners and Great South Gate. Solana Foundation also participated in the round. The game studio will use the funds to add more systems and environments to its virtual version of Mars.
Marwari received $6.5 million from Blockchange Ventures , Decasonic , Abies Capital Ventures, Prima Capital, LLC , Anfield, Inc , Outlier Ventures , and Accord Ventures. The company develops solutions that enable fast 3D content delivery for metaverse-ready assets.
NFT Industry Trends
Lifeform, a 3D virtual human avatars editor, raised $5 million in a Series A round led by Geek Cartel. KuCoin Labs, Foresight Ventures, DHVC, K24 Ventures, and Another Worlds backed the round.
AI-powered NFT trading startup NeoSwap AI raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Digital Asset Capital LLC Management and AngelHub . Among the other investors are Gossamer Capital , Cavalry Asset Management, Dhuna Ventures, Stacks Ventures, and several angels.
NFT lending protocol PaprMeme received $3 million from Coinbase Ventures.
Web3 fantasy sports game platform Unagi raised $5 million in an equity-based seed round led by Sisu Game Ventures . Sfermion , 2B Ventures , UOB Ventures, Signum Capital , and Machame are among the investors.
Art gallery platform Botto received funding in a strategic round led by Variant.
Creator of designer toys, apparel, and NFTs Superplastic received $20 million in an extended Series A round led by Amazon Alexa Fund. Among the investors are Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital , Kering , Sony Japan, and Animoca Brands. The company will use the funds to develop “The Janky & Guggimon Show” series and films for Amazon.
“As we expand the Alexa Fund to address a wider range of consumer technologies that include ambient computing, smart devices, and the future of entertainment, we’re very excited to add Superplastic to our portfolio,” - said the director of the Alexa Fund, Paul Bernard, in a press release.
Finiliar Studios raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round backed by IDEO CoLab Ventures, Wave Financial, and angel investors. The startup aims to develop software and creative IP for its ecosystem. So, Finiliar will use the funds to create a suite of applications, integrations, and other products.
Non-custodial NFT index and algorithmic lending protocol Fungify raised $6 million in a round led by Citizen X . Among the other participants are Distributed Global, Anagram, Taureon Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Flow Ventures, and several angel investors. The startup will reportedly launch when it concludes security audits this spring or summer.
NFT platform Collector Crypt raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round backed by GSR, Big Brain Holdings, Genesis Block Ventures, StarLaunch, Master Ventures Investment Management, FunFair Ventures, and Telos. The startup integrates physical ownership into web3 digital marketplaces.
Music Industry Trends
Web3 music platform Vault raised $4 million in a Series A round led by Placeholder VC. Among the other investors are AlleyCorp , Bullpen Capital , and Everblue Investment Management LLC . The platform allows artists to turn their music into limited-edition NFTs and offer experiences to their fans.
Social Network Industry Trends
Zion, a social network built on “Web5” standards with the Bitcoin Lightning Network, received $6 million in a round led by XBTO Humla Ventures. Among the other participants are Kingsway Capital, UTXO Management, Bitcoiner Ventures, and Tony Robbins.
Indian short video-sharing platform Chingari received an undisclosed amount from Aptos Labs.
DAO Industry Trends
Stider raised $5.5 million in an extended seed round led by Makers Fund and Fabric Ventures. The startup aims to revolutionize the way intellectual properties are developed and owned. Among the other participants are Shima Capital, Sfermion, and Magic Eden. It’s worth noting that Stider was founded by former EA Games and Jam City executives, Andreessen Horowitz partners, and other industry experts.
Environment Industry Trends
Carbonplace, the London-based global carbon credit transaction network, raised $45 million in a strategic round. Nine banks participated, including BBVA, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, NatWest, National Australia Bank, SMBC, and UBS. The company will use the funds to scale the platform and expand the team.
Privacy Industry Trends
Beldex received $25 million from web3 investment firm DWF Labs. The funds will be used for research and development.
Identity Industry Trends
EthSign, a decentralized electronic agreement signing platform, received an undisclosed amount from Animoca Brands.
Name service network SPACE ID raised $10 million in a strategic round led by Polychain Capital and dao5. The startup plans to use the funds to accelerate the development of its name service and other products.
Enterprise Industry Trends
3RM raised $3 million in a round led by Distributed Global. Among the other investors are Shima Capital , Big Brain Holdings , and Metareal . The startup will use the funds to build customer relationship management tools.
Payment Industry Trends
Web3 wallet infrastructure startup Portal received $5.3 million. The round saw participation from Slow Ventures, Haun Ventures, Screw Capital, Chapter One, and numerous angel investors.
Payment gateway provider FLUUS received $600,000 in pre-seed funding. FHS Capital, Encryptus.io, and several angel investors backed the round.
Open-source crypto wallet OneKey raised an undisclosed amount in an extended Series A round led by IOSG Ventures.
Self-custodial, multi-signature wallet Den raised $2.8 million in a seed round. Among the participants are IDEO Colab Ventures, Gnosis, Portal Ventures, Not Boring Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Seed Club Ventures, Lemniscap, Spice Capital, 3SE Holdings, Eberg Capital, Human Capital, and Volt Capital.
TipLink, a lightweight wallet enabling simple digital asset transfer, raised $6 million in a seed round led by Sequoia Capital and Multicoin Capital. Big Brain Ventures, Circle Ventures, Asymmetric, Karatage, Solana Ventures, Monke Ventures, Paxos, and well-known angel investors backed the round.
Blocto raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round led by Mark Cuban and 500 Global.
Investment Industry Trends
Bit.Store, a social cryptocurrency investment platform, received equity funding from Alchemy Pay, which acquired a 15% stake in the startup. The funds will be used to enhance Bit.Store’s technical team, as well as for research and development and product optimization.
Authentification Industry Trends
TheRollNumber raised $165,000 in a pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The startup develops a marketplace that provides background verification. TheRollNumber will use the funds to reinforce its technology stack and improve the platform.
Marketing Industry Trends
Customer loyalty platform Cub3 received $6.5 million in a Series A round led by Bitkraft and Fabric Ventures. Among the other participants are CMT Digital, Geometry Labs, and Red Beard Ventures. The startup provides infrastructure for brands to reward users in tokens.
ManesLab, a brand group focused on web3 culture and the creator economy, raised $1.8 million in a seed round led by YZB Investment. The startup plans to incubate new web3 native IP and blockchain applications.
Sesame Labs, which provides decentralized solutions to web3 marketing, raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Venture Capital and Patron. The startup aims to enable individuals and decentralized applications to engage with the “decentralized world” in trust.
Management Industry Trends
Decentralized account management protocol Intu raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by CoinFund. Metaweb Ventures, Fantom Foundation, Kitefin, Orrick, and several angel investors participated in the round. The startup released its beta version at ETHDenver Buidl week on February 24.
Data Industry Trends
Gosleep, an Arbitrum-based HealthFi-focused web3 lifestyle app, raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by Foresight Ventures. Amber Group, SevenX Ventures, KuCoin Ventures, and Gate.io backed the round.
Privacy-preserving decentralized database Polybase raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by 6th Man Ventures. Among the other participants are Protocol Labs, Alumni Ventures, Orange DAO, NGC Ventures, and CMT Digital. The startup plans to launch in the upcoming weeks.
Web3 observability platform Sentio received $6.4 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. HashKey Capital , Essence VC, Canonical , and GSR Ventures are among the backers. The funds will be used for team expansion and for the running of the existing infrastructure.
Superchain Network raised $4 million in a combined seed and pre-seed. The seed round was led by Blockchain Capital, while pre-seed funding saw participation from Maven 11, KR1, Tokonomy, and Fansara.
Data analytics startup Blockfenders received $1.5 million in a pre-seed round. Among the participants are Blume Ventures, Together Fund, Veda VC, Behind Genius Ventures, Global Devc, Better Capital, Eximius Ventures, Arka Venture Labs, FortyTwo, GSF Fund, Pointone, and Upsparks. The company will use the funds to increase its presence in various industries and expand its team.
Universal blockchain search engine developer Elementus raised $10 million in an extended series A round led by ParaFi Capital.
Port3 Network, which provides social data for web3 use cases, raised $3 million in a seed round led by KuCoin Ventures. Among the other investors are Block Infinity, Jump Crypto, Cogitent, SNZ, and Momentum6.
“The company’s in-house algorithm refines and standardizes user data, segmenting user profiles according to preference, value & authenticity,” - explains the company in a press release.
Messaging Industry Trends
Towns, a group chat protocol and app built by Here Not There Labs, raised $25.5 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The startup enables users to build digital town squares.
Decentralized instant messenger Sending Labs raised $12.5 million in a seed round led by Insignia Venture Partners, Signum Capital, and MindWorks Capital. The other participants are K3 Ventures, UpHonest Capital, LingFeng Innovation Fund, and Aipollo Investment. The startup plans to use the funds to accelerate its integration with other Layer 1s and Layer 2s.
Web3 communication platform Salsa raised $2 million in a pre-seed round. Among the investors are IDEO Colab Ventures, Inflection, Superscrypt, and noted angel investors.
Sumi Network, a web3 platform that provides wallet-to-wallet communication, raised $3 million in a seed round led by Scythe. Fuse, D1 Ventures, DFG, and TRGC also participated in the round. The startup plans to use the funds to develop decentralized communication and storage solutions.
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Security Industry Trends
Kekkai, a web3 wallet security provider, raised $371,350 in a pre-seed round led by Skyland Ventures.
Blockchain cybersecurity platform Ironblocks raised $7 million in a seed round led by Disruptive AI and Collider Ventures. Among the other participants are ParaFi, Samsung Next, Quantstamp, and noted angel investors. The company will use the funds to expand the team and accelerate development.
Software and hardware wallets security solution provider Webacy raised $4 million in a seed round led by VC firm gmjp. Gary Vaynerchuk, AJ Vaynerchuk, Mozilla Ventures, Soma Capital , CEAS Investments, DG Daiwa Ventures（DGDV） Ventures, Dreamers, Quantstamp, and MIRAISE backed the round.
“To welcome the next billion users to Web3, we’ll need a safe environment that allows everyone to transact and own assets with the power to protect themselves,” - said the company in a statement.
Argentinian bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, French BNP Paribas, British Standard Chartered, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Brazilian Itaú Unibanco, British National Westminster Bank, National Australia Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Swiss UBS invested $45 million in Carbonplace.
Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led the Series A round of Here Not There Labs’ group chat protocol Towns. The startup received $25.5 million from the noted venture fund. In February, a16z also led the extended seed round of Azra Games, which received $10 million, and the seed round of Stelo Labs, which raised $6 million. In addition, Andreessen Horowitz participated in the $13.8 million token purchase of Yield Guild Games, which was led by DWF Labs.
DWF Labs also invested $25 million in the web3 ecosystem Bedlex. DWF Labs is a market maker and a multi-stage web3 investment firm with offices in Switzerland, UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the British Virgin Islands. The fund has previously invested in Blockchain Football, Kingdomverse, NFTY Finance, and other web3 startups. On a side note, DWF Labs makes part of the financial services company Digital Wave Finance.
Amazon Alexa Fund led the extended Series A round of digital collectibles and vinyl toys creator Superplastic. Overall, the company received $20 million from Alexa Fund, Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Kering, Sony Japan, and Animoca Brands.
Amazon Alexa Fund focuses on such areas as Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, education, enterprise collaboration, fintech and commerce, gaming, entertainment and social, hardware, health and wellness, mobility, property tech, robotics and frontier tech, smart home, and voice development tools.
Palo Alto-based Accel led the seed round of the India-based Kratos Studio, which raised a total of $20 million. Prosus Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Courtside Ventures, and Nazara Technologies backed the round. The venture capital firm has previously invested in Spotify, Facebook, Etsy, DropBox, and other noted companies.
VIRTUAL SOUTH KOREAN K-POP STAR APOKI TEAMS WITH CHARLES & KEITH GROUP
The accessories company is venturing into The Sandbox for a two-week stay.
Who better than a virtual K-pop artist to usher the Singapore-born fashion label into the metaverse?
It appears that Charles and Keith enlisted South Korean virtual musician “Apoki” as a collaborator and artist. The pastel-loving avatar recently released her first single of 2023, “Mood V5”.
Apokee means “being like a rabbit living somewhere in space”. Now imagine someone who specializes in K-pop and dance who also loves to flaunt fashion trends. The virtual performer has over 4.8 million followers on social media.
For their new Metaverse platform on The Sandbox and to draw from their spring campaign, Charles & Keith has tapped the virtual K-pop artist to host a rooftop party and perform some of her singles – global subsidiary of the brand Digitally prepared from the new collection. From Monday until March 27, CharlesKythaus will be live on the virtual real estate platform The Sandbox. Inspired by the brand’s spring “State of Play” campaign, the immersive CharlesKithaus virtual house includes glimpses of the collection, including its color palette, in every detail. There will also be an NFT gallery showcasing recently released artworks to encourage experimentation and engage fashion fans.
Apoki will appear among the selections from the brand’s spring collection.
Some Apoki fans have been attracted to the virtual artist’s music videos, which are known for more flashy CGs. Their new music video also features the prototype of the new brand AFEELA, announced by Sony Honda Mobility Inc. did at CES in January. Apoki has been selected to perform as a leader in the virtual K-pop artist arena in honor of the brand’s new expansion into the virtual world.
In 1996, Charles and Keith Wong, co-founders of Charles & Keith, started the company with an emphasis on trendy and versatile footwear for progressive urbanites. Since that time they have built on that range and added handbags, eyewear, accessories and costume jewelry to its assortment.
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FASHIONING THE FUTURE: DECENTRALAND AND SPATIAL.IO COME TOGETHER FOR FASHION WEEK 2023
Vogue Singapore by Indran Paramasivam
It’s no secret that the balance and inspiration of tradition and the longing for continuous innovation are often seen as two sides of the same coin. Yet, at times it feels impossible to marry them together into a harmony of outcomes. At Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) 2023 however, both history and the future will converge in the largest user-owned-and-operated virtual world to light the fires of the future of digital fashion’s panoramic potential.
Conceived by metaverse forerunner Decentraland and UNXD, a path-lighting culture and luxury platform in the crypto space, in partnership with Spatial and over metaverse networks, MVFW will be held from March 28-31 this year, and will be the space to reveal the next frontier of digital. Illuminated by the theme ‘Future Heritage’, this iteration of MVFW aims to bridge tradition with innovation via a fundamental purpose poised to have boundary-blasting consequences. By linking next-generation designers with long-reigning luxury fashion houses, thereupon raising the stakes for fashion in technology’s most current cutting-edge expression.
The roster of brands and collaborators participating in MVFW 2023 is both bast and impressive. Vogue Singapore joins the likes of DOLCE&GABBANA, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, adidas, The Donna Karan Company, LLC., Diesel, Clarks, and a lineup of head-turning digital fashion houses and platforms such as DRESSX, PHYGICODE, The Fabricant, ALTR, The Institute of Digital Fashion, House of Web3 and Meta Fashion House for this groundbreaking moment. It has become obvious to the headwaters of physical fashion that Web3 is the next and most necessary canvas upon which the evolution of fashion and its attendant implications on the communities and cultures it draws from and feeds into will be written. As much as the old rules continue to hold sway IRL, the realm of possibility in the metaverse is only now being unearthed.
Digital fashion’s new age will be heralded over the course of the series of events and activations that will unspool throughout MVFW 2023 and across several metaverses, but it’s at Decentraland’s Luxury District that the various brands will showcase their statement-making wares.
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Aéropostale ENTERS METAVERSE WITH DIGITAL BRAND EXPERIENCE
Retailers still can’t get enough of the metaverse as they continue to enter into digital spaces in order to connect with the young, tech-savvy consumer. The latest to embark on this journey is Aéropostale, which has teamed up with Metaverse Plus to design, develop and expand its presence in Web3.
Established together with the brand’s owner, Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), the launch into the digital sphere will consist of four major phases, the first of which, set for March 23, will see the drop of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), entitled AeroPax.
On purchasing one of the initial 30,000 AeroPax assets, shoppers will gain access to various exclusive perks, such as access to limited-edition apparel.
The AeroPax will become the user’s property and will act as their interactive avatar to be used in Aéropostale’s forthcoming metaverse world, AeroWorld.
As part of phase two, a sneak peek of AeroWorld will become available, and will allow users to claim avatar characters, access virtual experience and collect in-game points which can be redeemed for merch and other perks.
Details of phase three and four will be revealed at a later stage.
In a release, Naushaba Moeen, EVP, lifestyle at Authentic, said the company was “thrilled” to be partnering with MetaversePlus to build the metaverse, adding: "Through this partnership, we aim to make Aéropostale a leading brand in the Web3 space and help shape the future of community and customer engagement in the virtual world."
PUMA Group IS PUSHING FURTHER INTO WEB3 AND FASHION
German sportswear brand PUMA Group announced an upcoming, 10,000-strong PFP NFT project on February 10 to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The launch plays into current company objectives: It’s investing in building its fashion and web3 communities, and broadening its web3 education in-house.
“For us, web3 is far from a marketing trend,” said Adam Petrick, Puma’s chief brand officer. “We see it as a way to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with our consumers.” The brand has had multiple launches connected to web3 in the last year, including the Black Station website that debuted during NYFW in September. The interactive website is meant to provide consumers with a glimpse at the future of the brand, while bringing web3 to web2 customers.
On March 1, the brand announced Rihanna’s return to the brand via an Instagram post. The post said another Fenty x Puma collaboration was “coming soon.” The music and fashion mogul was temporarily named PUMA Group creative director in 2014, timed with the release of a sell-out sneaker collaboration.
“For a long time, Puma engaged heavily in the fashion community,” said Petrick. “We stepped away from that for a while. Now we’re coming back to it and investing heavily in that area. There is a good overlap between the community interested in fashion and the community interested in innovative technology.” Petrick confirmed that Puma plans to be involved in global fashion week events this September, but declined to elaborate.
For 2022, Puma’s sales increased 19% year-over-year, to €8.47 billion ($10 billion).
The brand has started to showcase how it plans to show up in web3 this year, following the drop in metaverse popularity last year. “If anything, our level of interest in web3 has increased, because we’ve had some success in building a very strong, small core community in the web3 space,” said Petrick, talking about the brand’s sell-out NFT projects and Discord community of 30,000 members. “We’ve worked very hard to cultivate relationships with web3 super customers — that bleeding-edge consumer who is interested in new areas of technology and direct interaction with brands.”
“Any NFT project needs an authentic proposition. The purity of RTFKT and Nike is difficult to match, as it’s a partnership with integrity and joined goals,” said LEANNE ELLIOTT-YOUNG Young, founder of web3 platform Institute of Digital Fashion, pointing to Nike’s 2021 acquisition of RTFKT. “They are one united platform, [spanning] IRL and URL. For Puma [to be successful], telling a heritage brand story will be integral as that is where a lot of brands [competing on NFTs] hold their worth.”
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DELOITTE HELPS BRANDS DELIVER METAVEERSE EXPERIENCES
Global audit and advisory firm Deloitte has launched an immersive experience platform in partnership with technology provider Vatom.
The two companies have created a tangible experience to enable brands (and other businesses) to build virtual spaces for their customers, partners and employees. In essence, they have made the Metaverse accessible.
The first instance of this solution is Deloitte's "Mirror World," an immersive experience created for Mobile World Congress 2023. With "Mirror World," Deloitte booth visitors, as well as those not attending the event, will be able to speak with Deloitte subject matter specialists and learn more about AI-meets-metaverse use cases including a holistic, exclusive experience for luxury watch connoisseurs, containing digital collectables.
A second solution is a digital twins and simulation of factories - a demonstration of how data digital twins of machines can be fed real time data to analyse the current state of a manufacturing operation and immersive soft skills learning for managers.
"We're incredibly excited to build upon the rapid advancements in spatial computing and artificial intelligence to create meaningful immersive experiences for global audiences," said Michael Stephan, U.S. human capital leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "We invite attendees at Mobile World Congress, both virtually and in-person, to experience Deloitte Unlimited Reality practice's 'Mirror World' and learn more about how these metaverse applications can impact their customers, operations and workforces."
The product was developed on Vatom's unique Web3 SaaS platform that enables businesses to engage with their customers and stakeholders in a more meaningful way than a traditional digital presence. Deloitte said its Unlimited Reality helps companies fuse the physical and digital through the interaction of AI and 3D computing.
MAYBELLINE JUMPS ON VIRTUAL BRAND AMBASSADOR TREND
Virtual star May will feature in the Falsies Surreal Extensions Mascara campaign alongside brand ambassador Gigi Hadid
Maybelline New York has created digital ambassador May to promote its new Falsies Surreal Extensions Mascara. The cosmetic giant’s first avatar will feature in the campaign, which “merges the real and virtual worlds”, alongside global brand ambassador Gigi Hadid.
"When a mascara delivers a transformation as surreal as this, it takes something just as surreal to introduce it,” said Shivani Shah, SVP of Global Brand Experience at Maybelline New York.
“That is where May comes in."
Shah described the campaign as highlighting the mascara's properties “in a fun and unexpected way".
The L'Oréal-owned brand will use May in the release of future virtual products and services too.
Metaverse-related activations and campaigns of high-performance make-up franchises will be included.
The digital ambassador is Maybelline New York New York’s latest foray into the metaverse.
The cosmetic company released branded beauty looks on avatar platform Ready Ready Player Me One last year.
The brand also dipped its toes into Web3 by sponsoring ‘Fashioning Masculinity’, a virtual fashion competition.
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Hermès MOTIONS TO BLOCK METABIRKIN NFT SALES FOLLOWING TRIAL
Hermès is pushing for a permanent injunction that would prevent Metabirkins creator Mason Rothschild from promoting and selling his NFTs. What does this mean for NFT holders?
Hermès has asked a New York court to block Mason Rothschild from promoting or selling his Metabirkins NFTs and to reassign ownership to Hermès. It’s the latest action the brand has taken against the Metabirkins creator, and though the fashion house can’t remove existing NFTs from the market that have already been sold, it could signal a warning to owners.
In February, Hermès won its case against Rothschild after a jury ruled that the Metabirkins artist infringed on the French luxury house’s trademark protections. Rothschild intends to appeal. On 3 March, Hermès filed a motion for a permanent injunction, contending that “Rothschild’s conduct creates irreparable harm to Hermès.”
In the filing, Hermès claims that Rothschild is still promoting and reaping the benefits of his Metabirkins NFTs in the form of royalties (the brand says Rothschild maintains a 7.5 per cent royalty for all sales). Hermès alleges that Rothschild has continued to promote the sale of Metabirkins NFTs on social media and the Metabirkins website. The brand also references Rothschild’s team’s media activity, such as a Washington Post opinion piece by Andy Warhol expert Blake Gopnik that argued the Metabirkins should have been treated as art. Gopnik’s testimony was excluded from the trial.
In the proposed permanent injunction, reviewed by Vogue Business, Hermès proposes that Rothschild and his affiliates are “permanently restrained and enjoyed from directly or indirectly” creating, promoting or selling any product or merchandise, including NFTs, that use the Birkin trademark. It also proposes that Rothschild transfer any Metabirkins NFTs in his possession to a Hermès-designated crypto wallet, in addition to transferring the smart contract, Metabirkins domain name and Metabirkins social media pages to Hermès. It also wants to alert all Metabirkins holders to the injunction. This could implicitly warn them that they too could suffer legal consequences if they try to sell their NFTs, says Jeff Trexler, associate director of Fordham University’s Fashion Law Institute.
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IN PARIS, A NEW APPROACH TO WEB3
As the centre of luxury fashion, Paris has also become an unexpected leader in the potential to use blockchain in the future of fashion — but don’t look to fashion shows for inspiration.
Just days before Paris Fashion Week started, NFT conference NFT Paris attracted a global audience to talk about the future of fashion. Here, founders, CIOs and VCs met to talk about best practices and partnerships, and brands took to the spotlight to share their latest work. Balmain launched a phygital sneaker NFT collection with Space Runners, while RTFKT and hardware wallet maker Ledger announced a capsule collection and educational programme. Designer Danit Peleg unveiled a collection of 3D-printed dresses funded by Nouns Dao, while Journey chief metaverse officer Cathy Hackl announced her latest venture: a collection of NFT-connected, NFC-chipped luxury jewellery. Arianee founder Pierre Nicolas Hurstel presented highlights from a new paper written in partnership with BCG that outlined the potential for blockchain technology to upend identity, data and ownership. 9dcc opened a pop-up studio with POAP.
The juxtaposition between NFT Paris and Paris Fashion Week hints at the city’s ability to attract the intersection of Web3 and fashion. Paris has become uniquely positioned to bridge the divide between luxury fashion and tech, offering an early read of industry sentiment amid the crypto bear market. At NFT Paris, venture capital firm a16z crypto co-hosted a dinner for leaders from luxury brands, NFTs and the investment community, while executives from the likes of Balmain, Shopify and CHANEL shared the stage with Web3 founders including Rtfkt’s Pagotto and Leanne Elliott-Young from the Institute of Digital Fashion.
Indeed, Paris in the past few years has risen above its traditional reputation to become a testing ground for ways in which the fashion industry might use blockchain-based technology. This has been intentionally encouraged by the French government. When he was elected as president, Macron shared aspirations for France to become a “startup nation”, helping to support destinations such as Station F, where companies ranging from LVMH and L'Oréaléal to Arianee — which got investment from a government-affiliated bank — have set up shop. Paris is also home to the Aura Blockchain Consortium, whose members include LVMH, Cartier, Prada Group and more. To this end, first lady Brigitte Macron personally visited NFT Paris, which grew from 500 to 10,000 attendees in the past year, says co-founder Alexandre Tsydenkov
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