Cider’s and Tommy Hilfiger’s NFT strategy for Metaverse Fashion Week is a lesson for all brands on how to merge the physical and digital worlds.

Cider’s and Tommy Hilfiger’s NFT strategy for Metaverse Fashion Week is a lesson for all brands on how to merge the physical and digital worlds. YPulse’s Metaverse trend research found that 74% of young people who play virtual world games like when brands open stores in their virtual worlds. Brands including Estée Lauder, Forever 21, DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, and more showed up for Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week to test the potential of the virtual fashion space. Cider, a Gen Z-focused ecommerce brand, used its Decentraland digital store to create an experiential gaming experience for young people and build community with them. Users could purchase digital wearables for their avatars and NFTs that grant them access to future exclusive promotions and IRL / digital events. Tommy Hilfiger virtually displayed its spring 2022 collection in its Decentraland store front, where users could shop for “phygital” items via NFTs, granting them access to products for both their digital closet and IRL one. Phygital items could be the future, notes the co-founder of Boson Protocol (the company that worked with Tommy Hilfiger on its Decentraland showcase), explaining, “If you buy a high-end, physical handbag, you’re going to expect it to come with an NFT wearable. And if you buy an NFT wearable, then it’s gonna come with the physical equivalent. It’s a merging of worlds.” As brands continue experimenting with NFTs, creating digital experiences that contain a physical component—and vice versa—could be key to boosting engagement with young people in virtual worlds. (Glossy)