BUSINESS STRATEGY
The business strategy revolves around both physical and digital luxury exclusivity, with a nod to sustainable practice. With these components in mind, the initial operating model will be that of digital/physical twins, with physical footwear therefore being sold via an NFT made-to-order basis. The brand will engage consumers with methods that have not yet been explored in the luxury fashion space to date across the supply chain. It’s important for a successful future digital luxury fashion house that the value delivered goes further than simply the launch of digital garments. This is something to be even more mindful of at this moment as there is currently no present usage value within the metaverse space given the lack of interoperability between platforms/worlds (with avatars also still very much in their infancy).
DROPS
With this in mind, the plan would revolve around a series of drops, ideally attaching to seasonality. As drops rollout, the brand momentum increases, thereby affording the ability to continually generate and build upon more enhanced experiences over time for clients. Each drop can be discovered below.
The difference between the launch of Drop 2 to that of others in the luxury fashion industry is that when the sell-through of NFTs has taken place, a fashion show will be held (both physically and digitally) to showcase the range as footwear moves into full production, and the NFT holders will be invited to the show as VIP attendees, alongside press. The community of NFT holders will also be directly engaged with individually and as a collective at each stage of the production process, telling the story of their personal artisanal footwear journey before it arrives with them. The deep connection NFT holders will feel to the brand will be like nothing seen before in luxury fashion customer engagement.
LAUNCH ROADMAP
It’s important to me that this brand is built for longevity. Below you will see my adaptation of the Gartner Technology Hype Cycle, originally published in July 2022. This assesses various technologies and their stages of interest among consumers against a given timeframe. I have chosen a select few technologies relevant to the brand, with a particular focus on NFTs as I see them playing out (with dates added).
My assessment is that NFTs will begin to exit the ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ on the turn of the year, and it’s therefore important to capture the luxury fashion market at this moment with Drop 1 - a true and valid NFT project that consumers can trust, leading towards Drop 2 in April 2024, which will see the brand’s serious introduction to the luxury market. Drop 3 will serve as a means so solidify the brand as a digital luxury house, allowing the brand to evolve towards not only partaking in, but shaping the Metaverse of the future for luxury.