On Tuesday night in midtown Manhattan, the crypto cultural elite celebrated conquering yet another corner of the luxury market with sparkling wine and snacks at Swarovski’s glittering flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Ta.
They were there to kickstart the launch of a new line of algorithmically designed, Ethereum NFT-paired, NFC chip-equipped custom hoodies created by a dizzying web of collaborators.
The 322 one-of-a-kind garments make up mmERCH’s second collection, a tech-focused luxury fashion brand inspired by the punk-themed CryptoPunk of DJ Danny Maegaard (aka Seedphrase). Ta. All came with NFTs created by renowned AI-powered digital artist Claire Silver, and in a few select cases featured Swarovski crystal cord ends. Five of the bejeweled hoodies will be sold at the prestigious auction house Christie’s.
Although countless chefs were involved in this project, one key element came up again and again during panel discussions among the creators. cryptopunksthe “Blue Chip” NFT collection that served as the anchor theme for the Parker line, and the connection between Maegaard and Silver, both CryptoPunk holders.
“CryptoPunks is a quiet luxury brand in the Web3 space,” mmERCH founder Colby Mugrabi said to a crowd of nods during the panel.
For now, CryptoPunks may not just be a mainstay of the “quiet luxury” of cryptocurrencies. This collection is only Crypto-native brands of all kinds have been able to meaningfully penetrate the rarefied upper echelons of the luxury goods industry.
Nicole Sales Giles, President of Christie’s digital art teamsaid decryption The CryptoPunks brand has managed to embed itself in the world of luxury goods in a way that other crypto brands have not.
“It’s respected,” she said. “Even some of[cryptocurrency’s]more historic projects don’t really have the continuity or longevity of a brand like Punks.”
CryptoPunks have graced the walls of some of the world’s greatest cities. art museumand was also featured in collaborations with luxury goods giants. tiffany. Other once popular NFT brands include: boring ape yacht club It has fallen by Approximately 93% CryptoPunk continues to capture value in 2022 and beyond millions of dollars total.
Seedphrase, whose infamous punk inspired his hoodie collection DJ career CryptoPunk’s difference comes down to the project’s organic origins. The 10,000-piece collection was originally minted for free Since then, we have been able to maintain cultural relevance without the intervention of our creative team.
“CryptoPunks promised nothing,” Seedphrase said. decryption. “Meanwhile, on Bored Apes, in order to maintain the lowest price, Yuga Labs was continually dropping tokens and coins or trying to encourage the community to buy more Apes.”
Seedphrase believes that artists, collectors, and luxury brands are flocking to CryptoPunks now, several years later. Because this collection is one of the few remaining symbols of the organic community that once defined cryptocurrencies in their early days.
“People choose punks for the right reasons,” he continued. “This is a more authentic and organic message than other collections have tried to imitate.”
(CryptoPunks IP purchased Created in 2022 by Bored Ape creator Yuga Labs. )
The first five parkas in the collection – “ultra-luxury” pieces set with Swarovski cord ends in either sterling silver or 14-karat gold – were auctioned off at Christie’s on Wednesday. Each piece also comes with a unique and unique NFT artwork by Claire Silver, rather than an edition piece. The rarest of these hoodies, with a Swarovski diamond-encrusted cord, is already fetching a high price. bid $8,500. Auction ends on October 1st.
On the same day, the remaining 317 Parker whitelisted mints will be open for exactly 24 hours exclusively to mmERCH Genesis Parker owners and CryptoPunk owners. For whitelist members, the price of the piece is 0.269 ETH (approximately $693 at the time of writing). The sale will then open to the public on October 2nd, with each hoodie selling for 0.317 ETH (currently worth $817).
Parkers are randomly distributed to mints, each with different attributes. Only 17 of these pieces feature Swarovski crystal ends, and one also has a Swarovski diamond-encrusted cord.
Colby Mughrabi of mmERCH, who has a background in traditional fashion, said he expects the collection to appeal to both crypto-native collectors and traditional fashion consumers.
Giles from Christie’s Sales agrees. Last year, digital art and fashion collections that sought to profit from crypto’s loyal audience disappeared, leaving behind a mature field of work more likely to be embraced by traditional luxury goods, she said. spoke.
“More advanced projects are emerging,” Sales-Giles said. “I don’t have to rush to contact all my Twitter followers. That was a really welcome change.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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