TRANSLATION | Eugenia Yang

一款比正版愛馬仕還更高價的百萬NFT「柏金包」除了吸引到品牌的關注與控訴外，不難讓人理解的是，NFT正在從虛擬世界顛覆現實生活。

美國洛杉磯藝術家 Mason Rothschild 以愛馬仕（Hermès）經典包款「柏金包」為靈感，打造了一系列名為「MetaBirkin」的NFT藝術作品，這些包款還以不同風格的毛料手感、漸層花紋等等於邁阿密巴塞爾藝術展上首度公開，價格一路飆升至破台幣百萬，引來了品牌的關注外，更是公開指控「MetaBirkin」藝術作品侵權而將全數作品下架。除此之外，特斯拉執行長 Elon Musk 穿著虛擬球鞋 Cyber Sneaker 的照片在社群網站上爆紅引起熱烈討論度，同時也讓品牌 RTFKT Studios 一系爆紅，一系列摸不著的虛擬球鞋價格也跟著水漲船高，甚至一雙高達 12.3 萬美元。這股 NFT （Non-Fungible Token，非同質化代幣）風潮隨著人們對於新潮的數位藝術（Digital Art）興趣提高，走在最前端的時尚品牌也紛紛轉以 NFT 來推廣品牌。

去年五月為慶祝 GUCCI 品牌一百周年，創意總監亞歷山德羅·米凱萊（Alessandro Michele）和知名攝影師芙羅莉亞·西基斯蒙迪（Floria Sigismondi）共同執導名為「詠嘆調（Aria）」微電影，作為GUCCI第一個NFT藝術品，藝術影片於佳士得拍賣會上由以太幣限定交易售出，並將收益全數捐給美國聯合國基金會（UNICEF USA）; BURBERRY 於去年八月與Mythical Games 推出旗艦遊戲 《Blankos：街區派對》合作推出NFT 系列產品，在遊戲當中提供稱為「Blanko」的各式數位模型角色，保證玩家經驗證所有權與真實性，而 BURBERRY推出限量版 Blanko 名叫Sharky B 的 NFT 角色，也推出自有品牌的遊戲NFT配件，確保角色的獨特性與稀有度 ;此外，為慶祝創始人路易·威登誕辰200周年，Louis Vuitton 也推出了遊戲《LOUIS : The Game》遊戲內容跟隨LV經典玩偶Vivienne的旅程，尋找代表路易威登歷史里程碑的200張明信片。本款遊戲運用最新區塊鏈技術，嵌入30個非同質化代幣（NFT），可以提供玩家在遊戲過程中收集。

而今年在2022秋冬男裝秀上 FENDI 攜手一體化數位資產管理解決方案平台 LEDGER，融合尖端虛擬技術與 FENDI 雋永招牌風格，打造最為簡單易用又最安全的加密貨幣硬體錢包，把 FENDI 帶入元宇宙的世界。此舉動也成為秋冬男裝秀中的一大焦點，如同 FENDI 男裝設計總監 Silvia Venturini Fendi 說的「創造無形事物與創造有形事物一樣重要，這正是我們必須接受即將到來的未來。」; GUCCI 於今年二月再次推出 NFT 作品《SUPERGUCCI》，這次與 SUPERPLASTIC 合作並由三部曲的方式推出，第一波露出為擁有GUCCI 的復古花卉印花外表的限量公仔，而此第一波聯名將會發行10 個超限量 NFT，每一個 NFT 還會搭配一款手工製作的陶瓷公仔，為這次合作系列中最大的亮點; PRADA 同樣於今年2月加入 Ubisoft電玩系列極限共和國 (RIDERS REPUBLIC®) ，將Prada Linea Rossa系列服飾融入電玩遊戲內的戶外運動場，供玩家在遊戲中挑戰遊玩。走在虛擬時尚最前端的 Balenciaga 自從 Demna Gvasalia 接任創意總監後，就不斷地將科技、虛擬與數字做連結延伸至秀場當中，像是推出超現實虛擬電玩遊戲，名為《後世：明日世界》打造了一個2031年為背景的未來國度，讓人不禁聯想原宇宙的概念。

時尚品牌轉戰虛擬世界的種種現象，《華爾街日報》（The Wall Street Journal）曾形容，NFT 已然成為一種文化現象。又或者是說，NFT 開始顛覆人們對未來虛擬生活的想像。NFT就像是虛擬世界中每個商品的所有權證明書，即便買了之後你的衣櫃沒有多一件服裝、鞋櫃沒有多一雙鞋，但卻可以上傳於社交媒體，代表著已經擁有這雙鞋子的所有權。而策略顧問公司 Bain 和奢華時尚零售平台 Farfetch 的研究也說明了與消費者的數位互動對品牌來說變得越來越重要。因此這些例子可以得知品牌推行 NFT ，目的就是要讓現實與虛擬世界有所連結，時尚、創意與科技緊密相連，在連結的過程中也讓傳統品牌屋重新定義品牌文化內涵與外延。

社交平台與時尚電商的討論度

前些時間隨著疫情爆發，​​消費者的足跡消失於實體門市，不只是重創百貨業與實體店面的業績，同時也強烈察覺關於數位平台的重要性，不只是時尚電商的普及，社群網站也成為新型態趨勢。我們可以透過眾多電商平台購買時尚精品，像是歐美電商Farfetch、Net-a-porter、Mytheresa等等平台成為了年輕人購買時尚奢侈品的管道，2017年 LVMH 集團加入奢侈品電商戰場，打造法國電商 24 Sèvres，其中遲遲不加入電商的時尚品牌CELINE也於 2018 年正式加入24 Sèvres 。 

社交媒同時也提供了年輕潮流人士分享與搜取靈感的機會，這些都融入於大眾日常生活，在社群網站當中有KOL、名人、當紅明星等分享生活日常穿搭、風格等等，看到有吸引力的單品也會即看即買，創造衝動感性購物方式。這樣的趨勢也延伸至品牌，利用社群網站中潮人們將全新單品融入於他們的生活當中，時尚精品不再只是特定圈子的獨角戲或只能成時尚大片，更是在創作者們風格下的自然討論，這種互相交流相互分享下的延燒，順利的就成為消費購買力。品牌也能夠收穫年輕人的反饋與真實感受，又可以透過新品的分享進行分享與測評。其中最令編者驚訝的必定是極簡時尚品牌 The Row 的反轉，喜歡小眾及極簡風格不難理解由明星Olsen姐妹花 Ashley 和Mary-Kate Olsen 共同創立的品牌 The Row於疫情剛開始擴散全球時發布的財務危機，大規模的裁員等等輿論及新聞報導，在極簡風格似乎在社群平台上發酵的同時，The Row的財務危機究竟是一群人的孤獨狂歡，或是大規模崛起的趨勢？不到兩年內就可以看到極簡趨勢的大功臣確實是社群媒體的功勞，包含 Kendall Jenner 在Instagram 上首次公開穿著整套The Row服裝，第二彈身穿白襯衫、白T恤與高腰長褲更是引起了眾人爭相模仿，名人的時尚影響力在社交媒體中延燒，如果在前任創意總監 Daniel Lee 掌舵下的 BOTTEGA VENETA，寧靜的極簡奢華或許不全意味著完全的沈默，數位時代的發展趨勢下，新型態下的時尚會是什麼樣子？或許就如同 Silvia Venturini Fendi 說的「朝著這個方向邁出的第一步，這是激動人心的一步。誰知道它會將我們帶向何方?!」

Not only attracting attention and complaints from fashion brands, the million dollar worth digital version of Hermès’s Birkin bag is solid proof that NFT (non-fungible token) is changing our reality from the virtual world. 

Last year at Art Basel Miami, Mason Rothschild, a Los Angeles-based digital creator, launched the MetaBirkin, a digital collection inspired by Hermès’s iconic handbag. His accessory has the same silhouette but is covered in fur and colorful patterns. It not only attracted the brand’s attention, but also reportedly received a cease-and-desist letter asking the marketplace to stop selling the NFTs. Meanwhile, photos of Elon Musk wearing a pair of Cyber Sneakers spread like wildfire across the internet and drove attention to RTFKT Studios who created the digital footwear. The market of crypto-clothing is booming with one virtual pair at a price of $123,000 dollars. With more and more people hopping on the trend of NFT, brands are now stepping into the world of digital fashion, a place where reality and virtuality are merged as one. 

Last May, in celebration of Gucci’s centennial, creative director Alessandro Michele and award-winning photographer Floria Sigismondi co-directed the house’s first NFT fashion film inspired by its recent Aria collection. The film was a part of an online auction at Christie’s with all proceeds donated to UNICEF USA. A few months later, in August, Burberry announced its partnership with Mythical Games to launch its NFT collection in their flagship title, Blankos Block Party. The multiplayer game features digital vinyl toys Blankos, a limited-quantity Burberry Blanko—a shark named Sharky B—and its own branded in-game NFT accessories to ensure the toy’s uniqueness and rarity. Meanwhile, to celebrate its 200 years, Louis Vuitton also introduced LOUIS: The Game, a phone app that follows the journey of Vivienne to collect 200 postcards to commemorate the birthday of Louis Vuitton. Most notably, there are 30 embedded NFTs for players to find throughout the game that can only be collected through playing and cannot be sold.

For its Men’s AW22 fashion show, Fendi decided to enter the metaverse through a partnership with global digital asset management platform, Ledger. Combining the Italian luxury house’s timeless style with the most forefront technology, the crypto currency wallet successfully bridges reality with the digital world. “It brings the two worlds together,” stated Silvia Venturini Fendi, “It’s something we have to learn little by little, all of us.” In February, Gucci collaborated with SUPERPLASTIC to kick off the three-part SUPERGUCCI series. Not only did it feature ten unique NFTs each accompanied by a handmade Italian ceramic sculpture, but it’s also covered in the iconic Gucci monogram patterns. In the same month, Prada joined forces with Ubisoft’s Riders Republic. The players of the game are now able to wear the Prada Linea Rossa collection while competing in a wide range of sports in the game. And lastly, ever since Demma Gvasalia took place as the creative director of Balenciaga, the Spanish luxury fashion house has been incorporating technology and virtual reality into its fashion shows. From the video game Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow that’s set in 2031, to the appearance of futuristic, robotic masks in its SS22 collection, Balenciaga has successfully marked its place at the forefront of digital fashion. 

The Wall Street Journal once described NFT as a cultural phenomenon. With brands joining the trend of digital fashion, it is safe to say that NFT is changing our imagination of virtual reality. These non-fungible tokens serve as certificates for the digital products we purchase. Even without the actual clothing or sneakers, we can still post a selfie with these products to coin our ownership. According to the research conducted by management consulting company Bain & Company and online luxury fashion retail platform Farfetch, digital interaction with consumers has become increasingly important for brands nowadays. The examples mentioned above show that the purpose of NFT is to connect our reality with the digital world. During the process of merging fashion, creativity and technology, we can redefine and further extend the meaning of brand culture. 

On Social Media and Fashion Retail Platforms 

In the wake of the pandemic, consumers no longer visit the stores physically anymore. Not only did it hit the sales of department stores, but it also made businesses realize the importance of digital platforms, both fashion retail and social media. From Farfetch, Net-a-porter, to Mytheresa, these luxury fashion retail platforms have slowly become one of the most common ways millennials shop. In 2017, LVMH joined these luxury platforms and a year later, Celine became available on 24 Sèvres, a French fashion retail platform as well. Social media has also provided young trendsetters with the opportunity to share and look for inspirations. It has become a platform for celebrities, influencers and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) to share their daily outfits and personal styles, creating a more impulsive and emotional mode of shopping for consumers. The same trend also applies to brand marketing. By making use of social media where celebrities and influencers can integrate the latest items into their posts, luxury fashion is no longer just for a targeted group of customers, but becomes an online exchange of personal styles. This sharing of styles then smoothly leads to the increase of consumer purchasing power. Brands are now able to collect feedback from young consumers, while sharing and testing the popularity of their latest collections. One of the most surprising examples is most definitely The Row’s transformation. When the pandemic first hit two years ago, the Olsen twin’s minimalist brand faced its worst financial crisis, with rumors of large-scale lay-offs going on in the company. While the minimalist style is gradually gaining popularity on social media, we can’t help but wonder if The Row’s financial crisis is proof of the isolation of minimalist fanatics? Or is it marking a trend that is on the rising? From Kendall Jenner’s mirror selfie Instagram post with the caption “The Row head to toe,” to the brand seemingly becoming a new celebrity status label, we see how social media actually helped the minimalist trend gain its popularity worldwide in a two-year meantime. The way Kendall’s outfit sparked a worldwide imitation effect showed celebrities’ social media influence on fashion and fashion trends. Looking at Bottega Veneta under Daniel Lee’s lead, perhaps the lowkey minimalist fashion is not entirely an act of silence. With the rise of the digital world, what is the future of digital fashion? Just like what Silvia Venturini Fendi said about the partnership between Fendi and Ledger, “It is an exciting first step in [ a new ] direction. Who knows where it might take us?!”