IOI
John Richmond is gaining a foothold in the NFT market.
Following the premiere of its autumn 2022 collection at Milan Fashion Week, the brand announced a collaboration with cryptocurrency provider Shiba Inu, one of the leading participants in the blockchain-enhanced ecosystem, for the launch of an NFT-based fashion collection later this year.
The collection, dubbed John Richmond x Shib after Shiba Inu’s meme cryptocurrency, will feature 10,000 non-fungible tokens that will be released in the second quarter of 2022. The company hasn’t decided how the digital tokens will be sold yet, but it says it’s working on a “one-of-a-kind” experience.
Physical replicas of the NFTs will then be displayed on the John Richmond runway during Milan Fashion Week, which runs from September 20 to September 26.
The show will be themed “Legends Live Forever,” and the apparel will be accessible as a see now, buy now collection at the brand’s flagship stores in Milan and Shanghai, as well as on the brand’s e-commerce site and at select e-tailers.
NFTs are being tested by a number of prominent fashion houses. Plein Sport reopened as a metaverse-native brand this week, with a maiden release of sneakers that also available in NFT variations, and Nigo’s first limited-edition capsule for Kenzo included an NFT version.
Arav Group, which also owns the Marcobologna and Silvian Heach brands, runs John Richmond. In 2017, the company bought a controlling position in the fashion house created by the British designer, who is still the creative director.
