Fashion to anticipate crypto revolution

Fashion is opening to cryptocurrencies. The luxury industry has also been following the technological evolution with an increasing interest, entering the revolutionary world of cryptography, blockchain, Nfts, Metaverse, and now cryptocurrency. The pioneer has been Hublot, watch brand owned by Lvmh, in the early days. In 2018, to celebrate Bitcoin's 10th anniversary, it had launched a limited-edition watch that could only be purchased using the digital currency. Philipp Plein followed, giving the green light since last August to payments in 15 forms of cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

At the end of March, Off-White, the brand founded by designer Virgil Abloh, announced that its flagship stores in Paris, London, and Milan will accept cryptocurrency payments. However, it was Gucci that took the big step forward: the flagship label of Kering started to accept cryptocurrency payments on a permanent basis. This is the first fashion house of an industry giant to eradicate prejudices against cryptocurrency. The pilot program, which was launched in May, is operating in a limited number of stores: Gucci wooster in New York, Rodeo drive in Los Angeles, Miami design district, Phipps plaza in Atlanta and The shops at crystals in Las Vegas. In the coming months it should be expanded to all direct boutiques in North America.

«I think we have to start from afar, recognizing that fashion has always been based on an interpretation of the so-called Zeitgeist», Marco Ruffa, industry expert and head of luxury market at Luxochain, explained to MFF. «Today, more than ever, the spirit of the time has come to include a form of revolution in the currency and financial markets». Today the retail market of small savers and investors is particularly sensitive to the crypto issue and extremely stressed. On the other hand, as Ruffa pointed out, one must consider that the target costumers of luxury brands have certainly diversified their portfolios by buying cryptocurrencies or making investments in the Nft world. This, however, has led to a significant increase in the overall number of active crypto wallets.

«Also, the army of new cryptomillionaires —nerds and tech enthusiasts who made their bet years ago and today find themselves with respectable capital that enables them to satisfy a growing need to purchase luxury goods and services— is not to be overlooked," he clarified. The combination of these two phenomena clearly finds a point of convergence in the boutiques of the most renowned brands. «Not surprisingly, very specific markets and cities have been chosen by both Philip Plein, the pioneer, and Gucci», the expert noted.

Thanks to data economy, these two brands have focused where a greater presence of customers with potential to be expressed can be identified through a native cryptocurrency payment system. «The direct wallet-to-brand payment has the advantage for crypto owners of relieving liquidity and, at the same time, does not involve the onerous conversion to flat currencies, i.e., euros or dollars», he explained.

Transferring to a brand-owned wallet is faster and less expensive. Thus, as Ruffa pointed out, buying directly in crypto is convenient for both customers and the brand. Other labels that are experimenting with crypto payments include Genny, Sergio Rossi and Tag Heuer, also from the Lvmh galaxy. Undoubtedly, this trend embraced by the fashion industry reflects the brands' intention to target increasingly younger groups of consumers, Gen Z and Millennials. The crypto market is worth more than 3 trillion dollars. «I personally think these are just the first hints of a change in the making: it is a first wave of early adopters who will pave the way toward a massification of the phenomenon in the years to come», Ruffa concluded. (All rights reserved)