Using blockchain to bring the limited edition concept to the digital world

Is authentication the next application area for blockchain in fashion?
Perhaps.
Imagine buying a piece of clothing and then bringing a digital representation of that garment into a video game. Now a digital item, it would be possible to copy it multiple times, right? But then imagine making that garment a one of a kind, a part of a limited edition collection, and to bring actual ownership to it.
That is what street wear brand XTERAT_ is doing, using blockchain technology. To achieve it they use NFT:s, non-fungible tokens, meaning a digital token that represents something unique. In other words, a way to prove that a digital item of some kind, is unique.
When it comes to XTERAT_’s clothing, it allow buyers to prove the authenticity of the products, for instance that the product has previously been owned by a celebrity.
XTERAT_ are not alone in this quest, as FashNerd reports. Louis Vuitton have already launched their Aura platform with its prime goal to authenticate luxury goods. Lukso is a blockchain ecosystem designed for the fashion industry and Provenance has used it to help brands build trust through transparency concerning the production history of the clothes.
It will be thrilling to see how this develops onwards.

A garment that is both clothing and crypto currency

Does $9 500 sound reasonable for a piece of clothing that can only be worn digitally? Well, one such piece was actually sold for that amount at an auction in New York last weekend. The couture piece, ”Iridescence”, was created by digital clothing pioneers The Fabricant and worn by artist Johanna Jakowska, creator of famous Instagram filters Beauty3000, and Dapper Labs, who is behind Crypto Kitties blockchain phenomenon, Forbes reports.
After buying it, the new owner has 28 days to provide a photo of the wearer to the creators, for them to custom fit the garment. Since the garment is also a blockchain digital asset, it is unique. This makes it both clothing and crypto currency.
Want to see what this garment looks like? Check it out here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookerobertsislam/2019/05/14/worlds-first-digital-only-blockchain-clothing-sells-for-9500/#2dd4bbbc179

Consumers: we want fair and sustainable fashion!

European consumers want brands and governments to take the lead when it comes to achieving sustainability within the fashion industry. This according to a report from non-profit global movement Fashion Revolution, that was released in the wake of Black Friday, The Current Daily reports.
The report was conducted among 5 000 participants in the five biggest markets in Europe (UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy) and showed that shoppers are eager to know that they are not harming neither people nor climate, when buying clothes. 77 % think fashion brands should be required by law to protect human rights, while 75 % think that brands should protect the environment in every step of the supply chain. And they want governments to make sure this is established.
An earlier report from Fashion Revolution also shows that consumers think brands should publish information about where and how their clothes were manufactured and which suppliers they source their materials from – which some are already trying out, using blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology helps make fashion processes more transparent

You probably know who designed the sweater you’re wearing. But do you know the farmer who contributed the wool, or the company who spun the yarn? Or the factory who knit the yarn into a fabric or the manufacturer who put the item together before it reached the store? Probably not.
Information like this is getting more and more important to provide the consumers, in an age of increasing interest in products produced in fair and sustainable ways. Now, the danish designer Martine Jarlgaard has teamed up with tech companies Provenance and A Transparent Company, and Fashion Innovation Agency to create a blockchain solution to make every part of the supply chain visible. The blockchain technology, that simply put is a chain of blocks each containing a transaction verified by a number of users, makes sure that every piece of information is correct. All the consumer has to do is use the Provenance app to scan a QR code in the product go get the information.
Martine Jarlgaard has proven before to be a friend of technology as a way to make fashion better. Last year she actually hosted the world’s first mixed reality fashion show. The audience, wearing clear Hololens mixed reality goggles, could experience the show that came to life as life size holograms and at the same time walk around and explore from all angles.