Ask a typical decision-maker for a luxury, lifestyle, or fashion brand, and they are probably likelier to characterise 2023 as a year of consolidation for the Web3 space, than one in which many pioneering leaps forward were observable. 

But with each New Year, comes at least something new in every industry, and much the same can be said about digital fashion and related technologies ranging from augmented reality (AR) to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

So, have there already been developments in the period from late 2023 to early in the New Year that could have implications for your organisation’s Web3 strategy? 

That is a judgement you will have to make for yourself. However, the below projects and initiatives to have come forth in recent times could give you food for thought. 

• The face of China’s burgeoning virtual influencer scene gets an eponymous clothing brand 

Whether or not you were already familiar with China’s hyper-realistic digital human, Ayayi, you have just been given even more reason to get up to speed with her activities and impact, in the form of her debut eponymous fashion label. 

The brand that bears Ayayi’s name is already showing the abundant possibilities for how the virtual and physical spheres could intersect for brands around the globe when they dare to be bold with their Web3 strategy. 

With the label’s first collection carrying the tagline “Realistic Utopia”, and making the most of technologies like AR and generative artificial intelligence (AI), while also having the advantage of Ayayi’s growing cultural influence, we can safely say this is one creative playground we will be keeping a close eye on throughout 2024. 

• Louis Vuitton’s Speedy bag takes yet another (AR-powered) form 

Few offerings from Louis Vuitton down the generations have attracted quite the cachet the Speedy bag has since its 1930s introduction. This ever-sought-after product’s name alludes to it having been conceived to serve the needs of travellers in an age of rapid transit. 

Fast-forward almost a century on, and it turns out the legendary French fashion house isn’t content to simply rest on that legend. Indeed, the company has proved no less brisk in its adoption of the technologies you might have considered for your own brand’s Web3 strategy in the 2020s. 

Yes, the venerable Speedy bag itself continues to be available in time-honoured physical form, but also as an NFT and now as an AR-powered filter on the Snap social hub. 

The colour-changing virtual counterpart of the “real-world” holdall shows that Louis Vuitton is continuing to discover exciting new marketing angles via the metaverse. It also demonstrates the high-end company’s undimmed belief in the scope of Web3 to achieve penetration Web2 cannot – including among Generation Z audiences. 

• Web3 artwork is even set to make a trip to the Moon 

If there is at least one currently active brand that you couldn’t accuse of lacking ambition as far as its Web3 strategy is concerned, that brand is surely The Fabricant. The digital fashion house has set its sights on no less than the Earth’s natural satellite, with August the scheduled date for a celestial mission entailing the sending of an exclusive art piece from the brand’s ‘Deep’ collection. 

The project has been made possible in large part due to the formidable expertise of one-time chief scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA), Bernard Foing, who is looking to put in place a museum-and-gallery-inspired arrangement on the Moon’s surface. 

The Fabricant has spoken of how this initiative has the goal of democratising outer space, which – as things stand – remains the reserve of the elite-of-the-elite tycoons. It is certainly a lofty aim in more ways than one, and here in the humbler environs of Skywire London, we can only wish Foing and co well in their efforts to show the right Web3 strategy genuinely has no ceiling to its potential. 

‍Reach out to our experts to discover the almost limitless possibilities of the New Year 

If you presently have your feet planted firmly on the ground as you attempt to coordinate growth for your own lifestyle, fashion, or high-end business during 2024 and beyond, you are very welcome to enquire to our creative, digital, and strategic experts today. 

Here at Skywire London, we have a stellar (one might even say interstellar) track record of delivering excellence for ambitious brands – with this, in turn, translating into sustained impact among the right audiences. 

We can’t wait to do it all again in the New Year – so, why wait any longer to discover whether we could be doing it for you and your brand?