British department store chain Selfridges is moving into the Metaverse with NFTs. The digital collectibles will be available in Selfridges stores. According to Selfridges, this makes it the first retail company in the world to sell NFTs at a fixed price via a physical counter. The company will sell over 1,800 NFTs between £2,000 and £100,000 at its London branch.
Entering the Metaverse is part of Project Universe, a “large-scale, multidimensional project” that Selfridges launched Thursday in collaboration with Fondation Vasarely and French fashion house Paco Rabanne. The NFTs include artwork by op art pioneer Victor Vasarely and digital versions of the first twelve dresses, dubbed “Unwearables,” ever designed by Paco Rabanne.
As Selfridges looks to the future, we continue to draw inspiration from the past. In the case of Victor Vasarely and Paco Rabanne, we have more than fifty years of proposals exploring the future,” said Sebastian Manes, Selfridge’s Executive Buying and Merchandising Director. “I like the idea of bringing Vasarely’s art into a meeting place like Selfridges – along with the distinctive identity of Paco Rabanne – and exploiting her vision to bring emotion, connection and accessibility to the experience.”
The Rise of NFTs in Fashion
NFTs, digital one-offs that are typically bought and sold online, have taken the world – and the fashion industry – by storm in recent months. In the last few weeks alone, heavyweights like Karl Lagerfeld, Adidas, gap, Balmain and Givenchy NFT collections introduced. The rise of NFTs and the Metaverse offer new and exciting perspectives for the fashion industry.
While the future value of NFTs is still uncertain, the early entry into this new area of the fashion industry is understandable. Many believe that the Metaverse will be the successor to the current Internet era. In December, the sportswear manufacturer Nike founded the start-up company RTFKT adopted, which creates virtually wearable NFTs in the form of sneakers and fashion.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Karenita Haalck.