French fashion brand Givenchy is once again launching a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. This time around, the collection will be composed of 15 different NFTs designed in partnership with digital artist Chito that celebrates the brand’s Spring 2022 collection.
The project is being led by Givenchy’s creative director, Matthew M. Williams, who has been in charge of the brand since June of 2020. Despite being the face of a world-renowned luxury fashion brand, Mr. Williams has no formal design training and is still in his mid thirties. He was a finalist of LVMH’s prize for young designers in 2016, and his presence at a leading fashion brand highlights the trend in the industry to hunt for young talent.
Launching an NFT collection is in line with the youthfulness, innovation, and creativity that comes with the onboarding of a young designer as its leader. The digital assets will be displayed and open for auction on OpenSea’s marketplace, which attracts an audience very different from Givenchy’s typically elegant and sophisticated consumer.
While Givenchy’s customers are likely to know about the auction through the brand’s social outlets, people who are active consumers on NFT marketplace OpenSea are also likely to get to know about the auction. Hence Givenchy can promote and expose an upcoming collection to a wealthy audience that previous marketing strategies may not have reached.
“I’ve been wanting to explore this new and exciting space of NFTs,” said Mr. Williams. “The fact that Chito is already active in the ecosystem made it feel even more natural for us to collaborate on this limited series and bring our collective vision for Givenchy even further.”
Givenchy had partnered with the digital platform Veve in June to launch an NFT in celebration of Pride Month. For the project, the brand auctioned a single NFT and the proceeds went to Le MAG Jeunes association, which supports the LGBTQIA+ community. Veve offers a comparatively user-friendly experience, whereas OpeanSea users tend to be more crypto savvy.
Back then, fashion brands were just starting to test out NFTs and looking for ways to implement them in projects that were not necessarily connected to their products. Louis Vuitton, for example, used in-game NFTs in a limited edition online experience to celebrate its 200 years.
Now, brands seem to be a bit more confident in the influence and promotion opportunities of NFTs and are implementing them more in marketing strategies. DKNY promoted a new logo with an NFT launch, Dolce & Gabbana auctioned a digital fashion collection and Jimmy Choo launched an NFT mystery shoe box collection.
