Summer diaries and review of a crypto winter mixed with an explosion of Luxury and Web3 news, deciphering current trends around luxury platform models, the future of e-retail or even energy sobriety in the age of Web3.
On September 15, more than 2,300 people followed the back-to-school live hosted by Karen Jouve and Eric Briones accompanied by their guests Patrizio Miceli (Al dente), Alexandre Bloch (Al Dente X The New Face), Jean Révis and David Bourguignon (MAD), Frédéric Cavazza (SYSK) and Sylvain Delteil (Perfect Corp).
Between crypto winter and love at the beach: Luxury 3.0 is doing well.
“In the middle of winter, I discovered within me an invincible summer”. This quote from Albert Camus sums up well the state of the market today. Despite a crypto market at half mast that has been unscrewing for several months, Luxe and Web3 projects have never been so numerous to hatch. Something to put the news into perspective.
On the one hand, many indicators are red, the price of flagship cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum have faltered, many experts including the CEO of the Coinbase exchange are alerting investors and asking them to prepare for a tropical winter which will could last 12 to 18 months. At the same time, some fails are starting to happen at Meta, which is backpedaling, or even some giants who had believed for a time in the emergence of a new role of Chief Metaverse Officer, but are slowing down the pace.
And yet, in view of the latest report released by Dune, behind the giant Nike, it is essentially the luxury houses that win the prize for the best NFT collections that have generated the most revenue. Dolce & Gabbanamade over $25 million in NFTs sales, a true NFT success story. As for Guccibetween its remarkable collaborations with SuperPlastic and 10KTF or the marketing of digital works of art, the house would have earned $11.56 million in revenue from its NFTs activities, including $10 million in direct sales and $1.56 million in resale earnings.
In the major trends observed this summer with luxury houses, we note the standard gradually created by NFT Moments, in particular popularized by POAPs: from Estée Lauder to Kenzo, the big luxury houses are using them to create new ways to interact with their community, engage their customers and create a first level of loyalty through the Web3.
Finally, this summer will also have been the occasion for sensational collections such as Tiffany & Co., which is completely rethinking the art of Gifting through the Web3 by offering Bored Ape Yacht Club holders 250 brand pendants, as if to make them sign to enter the community. Alexandre Arnault hit hard again.
What to remember from the Journal du Luxe 3.0 of September 15.
Many topics were on the agenda for this back-to-school event. All the speakers were thus able to contribute their stone to the building of a collective reflection on the state of the market and the prospects for the development of luxury 3.0.
Among the major themes to remember:
- The long-term impacts of the crypto crisis. When we talk about crypto winter, we are obviously talking about a period of sharp decline in the cryptocurrency market, generally followed by fear for the least seasoned investors. However, another way of looking at the situation is also to seize the opportunities, such as building real solid projects during the bear market to better grow and develop during the recovery. Many brands, especially in the luxury sector, have understood this and are now committed to building real business around Web3, gradually forgetting the purely speculative aspect.
- Meta’s law of series. It is still difficult today to obtain a consensus on Meta’s methods and vision. When some speak of an ambitious Metavers, others cry bullshit. And for good reason: did we wait to talk about a metaverse to get unrealistic avatars and centralize something that, by definition, must be decentralized? Some of the worst shots produced by Meta have thus created heated debates among Web3 specialists.
- The transition from a closed “Fashion House” model to an open “Luxury Platform” model. If the luxury houses did not manage to seize the opportunity of the previous wave of digital transformation, they are taking their turn with Web3. What Jean Révis and David Bourguignon, from the consulting firm MADit is the importance that luxury brands must give to the value they generate thanks to the new tools that are NFTs or the Metaverse, as well as the essential protection of the customer, the brand and the environment to be part of a sustainable and profitable approach. In this context, all the experts present during this live agreed to say that with Web3, luxury houses have the opportunity to enter a new era and to fully grasp the added value brought by these new ecosystems, in particular by building real open and decentralized luxury platforms. The example of consortia in luxury or collections made in collaboration prove it. “Alone, we go faster, together, we go further”. The challenge is also and above all to gain independence from traditional platforms such as GAFAM to finally regain control of its customer experience and databases.
- Digital crafting and its impact on recruitment. There is a real recruitment challenge today around the rare profiles that make luxury 3.0. And not all luxury houses necessarily have an interest in seeking to internalize everything. 3D designer, crypto-artist, Voxel Edit developer… many skills are sought, in particular to adapt to the state of the market. In this jungle of skills and good vision, some players stand out, such as the AlDente agency and The New Face, which have been supporting the new changes in luxury for years, particularly in the digital sector and more recently by becoming one of the partners of The Sandbox. During the live, Patricio Miceli and Alexandre Bloch thus insisted on the importance of building a Metaluxury experience at the service of new generations and immersing themselves in the codes that will make the luxury of tomorrow.
- Energy sobriety and its challenges for Web3. “The next big thing comes up against the imperative of a more responsible digital” emphasizes Frédéric Cavazza, warning of the essential issue of reducing the carbon footprint and energy sobriety in the service of greener projects that respect the environment. On this point, there are many areas for progress and it is true that luxury houses must integrate it “by design” into their internal and external processes.
See you at the Global Beauty and Fashion Tech Forum on September 22.
Perfect Corp., partner of the last four editions of the Journal du Luxe 3.0, is organizing a forum on September 22 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. dedicated to beauty and fashion tech surrounded by the best experts. Among the guests, around Alice Chang, CEO of Perfect Corp and Sylvain Delteil, VP Business Development Europe, will follow one another personalities from Fabernovel, Pierre Fabre, Coty, Dior, Baker, as well as Eric Briones, Managing Director of the Journal luxury.
The opportunity to decipher the challenges of beauty and fashion tech by browsing the trends, and the challenges at work to build tech in the service of luxury and beauty. Appointment here to register and not miss any of the debates!
Until then, the 90 minutes of replay of JDL 3.0 back to school are to (re) see here.