Hugo Boss is the latest on the list of many fashion brands exploring metaverse fashion. Its Youth-focused arm is gearing up to launch a “holistic, 360-degree metaverse experience.”
On Tuesday, Hugo announced that its apparel would be coming to the metaverse via a partnership with the whimsical NFT project Imaginary Ones. As part of the collaboration, an NFT collection entitled Embrace Your Emotions (EYE) will be released in early November.
EYE will feature 1,001 three-dimensional animations, six of which were created to represent the five “rarities” or basic emotions – love, joy, sadness, fear, and anger.
A special sixth character combining all five emotions will be auctioned off on October 10 to commemorate World Mental Health Day, with all proceeds going to Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM).
“The aim of the collection is to encourage everyone to connect with their emotions, and to share a message that all feelings – positive and negative – are valid and should be embraced, as the freedom to feel and express can significantly improve mental health and overall well-being,” Imaginary Ones said in a press release.
It is still unclear what a “360-degree” metaverse experience actually entails. However, an allowlist of 500 spots will be allocated to customers who purchase a limited edition “phygital” t-shirt. Each t-shirt will bear a QR code, which will redirect users to a Snapchat lens for creating a special augmented-reality effect.
In addition, holders of the NFT will have access to Imaginary Ones’ staking ecosystem, which provides a separate set of special Hugo x IO merchandise, experiences, and content, including digital wearables.
The Imaginary Ones original NFT collection is a set of 8,888 animated characters. The floor price is currently 0.73 ETH ($980).
Various brands have tried to leverage the Web3 frenzy. Gucci announced earlier this year that it would join its first decentralized autonomous organization with SuperRare. Burberry also launched a Web3 game. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton filed four trademark applications for NFTs, virtual goods, and digital collectibles on June 23.
