Dolce & Gabbana reportedly sold nine-pieces of its digital NFT collection to Dolce & Manfred for 5.7 million dollars.
According to The New York Times, the brand sold its digital ‘Collezione Genesi’ collection alongside physical couture items and also auctioned it on the digital luxury marketplace UNXD. The Ethereum cryptocurrency has risen 10 percent since the collection was announced, making it worth 6 million dollars.
UNXD collaborated on the collection which included five physical designs as well as four digital creations. Shashi Menon, the founder and chief executive of the company, was the one who went to Dolce & Gabbana was the first to realize this idea. UNXD designed the virtual versions of Gabbana’s physical designs. This included two versions of The Dress from a Dream in gold and silver that was sold for 225.5 Ether or 820,000 dollars.
Another virtual item included is an emerald-green man’s suit called The Glass Suit and a crown called The Impossible Tiara. Dolce & Gabbana released a statement to The New York Times in which said that the crown was made of “gems that cannot quite be found on Earth”. Pranksy, an anonymous buyer of the Impossible Tiara, purchased it for 99.99 Ether. This is over 350,000 US dollars.
Pranksy spoke to The New York Times affirming his belief in NFTs. “NFTs in fashion hold huge potential, especially when they are linked – like D & G has – to physical.”
The Doge Crown was the most popular piece in the collection. It is a headdress with seven blue sapphires, and 142 diamonds. The equivalent in dollars to 423.50 Ether is approximately 1.25 million. Menon explained that there were only nine pieces sold at once. “People can use them in metaverse and have physical experiences too.”
Dolce & Gabbana has achieved a record-breaking sale. Gabbana is at the forefront in the fashion NFT market. The brand was forced to cancel its 2018 campaign after making offensive comments about race, sexuality, and size. Its peak came when a Dolce & Gabbana video in China featured a Chinese model eating spaghetti with chopsticks – Dolce & Gabbana seems to be moving forward.
Fashion is increasingly embracing the NFT market. Kate Moss published three video NFTs in April that showed her doing daily tasks. Sleep with Kate, a video showing her napping, was sold for approximately 5 Ether or 18,000 USD. Moss donated all proceeds to charity.
Gucci and Burberry are just two of the brands that have tried out virtual NFT. Gucci’s three-channel video loop Aria and Burberry’s limited edition NFT collection were both available for Mythical Games multiplayer online game Blankos block party. The former was sold for 20,000 dollars and the latter for 325,000.
However, Dolce & Gabbana is not the most lucrative NFT sale. Menon said that the Beeple sale was an important turning point in crypto art and a catalyst for a boom. Mike Winkelmann or Beeple as he is named online, was the one who sold his NFT artwork, which he had created for a total value of 69,000,000 dollars. The project is called Everydays: The First 5000 Days. Winkelmann creates new images every day, with 2021 marking the fourteenth year. It was sold by Christie’s in March. This auction house’s legitimizing presence shows how important the NFT market is.
Dolce & Gabbana are continuing to invest in Fashion NFTs. The brand plans to launch DGFamily, a cryptocurrency community, and a collection of virtual jewel boxes NFT by the end of the month.
“These prices are not surprising,” Nick Jushchyshyn (the program director for Virtual Reality and Immersive Media, Drexel University), said to The New York Times. “It makes perfect sense for there to be an NFT collector around the world who would appreciate it.”
