Luxury NFTs are digital tokens stored on the blockchain representing ownership of high-end goods and services.
What is an NFT?
An NFT (non-fungible token) is a unique digital item stored on a blockchain. NFTs can represent almost anything, and serve as a digital record of ownership. A blockchain is a digitally distributed ledger that records transactions and information across a decentralized network.
Once they are written onto the blockchain, NFTs are immutable, verifiable, and have provable authenticity.
What are luxury NFTs?
A luxury NFT is a type of high-end NFT created by a luxury brand; they may include fashion NFTs, memberships NFTs, collectibles, redeemable NFTs, phygital NFTs, and other sub-genres.
Luxury NFTs may grant holders access to benefits, perks, and additional collections from that brand. Holders may enjoy perks like first looks at upcoming fashion collections, exclusive events, or luxury travel experiences.
In addition, luxury brands sometimes use NFTs to track the authenticity and ownership history of their products. This is especially relevant in the world of high-end fashion and art, where provenance and authenticity are crucial.
What are phygital NFTs?
A phygital NFT has both a digital and physical component tied to its utility. Phygital NFTs exist across industries, from fashion to gaming, and are typically used to associate a real-world purchase (a physical product or an IRL service, for example) with an accompanying digital item or virtual receipt. They can also be used to enable the redemption of a physical item tied to an initial digital purchase, also known as a redeemable. Some phygital NFTs are redeemable, but not all of them are.
Phygital NFTs can be purchased directly using an NFT marketplace like OpenSea, or in some cases, the phygital NFT can be minted or claimed after the physical item is purchased. It can also be granted directly in person or through traditional e-commerce.
Phygitals are often used by brands to build communities around beloved products or services, which is why they are relevant to luxury brands launching NFT collections. This is especially valuable for brands that haven’t traditionally had direct-to-consumer relationships but serve loyal, passionate fans, like many luxury brands.
What are redeemable NFTs?
A redeemable NFT (also called “a redeemable”) enables the holder to claim a separate physical or digital item(s).
There are two types of redeemable NFTs:
- One that can be exchanged for an entirely new digital or physical item (the holder does not keep the original NFT).
- Another that allows holders to keep their original NFT and still redeem it for another item(s). In this example, the metadata may be updated to reflect redemption status and quantity remaining, if applicable.
Many luxury NFTs come in the form of redeemable NFTs. This is because many luxury brands whose primary products are physical luxury goods create redeemable NFTs that enable the holder to claim one of their physical products.
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Where are my NFTs stored?
Luxury NFTs are stored in a crypto wallet similar to other NFTs.
A crypto wallet is a software program that helps you buy, sell, and store your cryptocurrency tokens, including NFTs. Think of it as your address on the blockchain — you can send and receive items from it, it stores your items, and you want to keep it locked and safe.
Notable luxury NFT collections
The Asprey Bugatti La Voiture Noire Collection
The Asprey Bugatti La Voiture Noire Collection is a sold-out 261-item collection. The collaboration between Asprey Bugatti Collection and the Asprey Studio brought a virtual and physical sculpture of a Bugatti to life. NFT holders were granted access to a private viewing at the studio, where they could preview the sculpture-making process. In addition to redeeming the NFT for a physical sculpture, NFT owners were also given access to virtual perks.
PORSCHΞ PIONΞERS CO-PILOT and PORSCHΞ 911
Where Bugatti has cultivated a phygital experience for its NFT community, Porsche has embraced a membership and experiential approach to their NFT collections.
Porsche’s two collections include PORSCHΞ PIONΞERS CO-PILOT and PORSCHΞ 911. PORSCHΞ PIONΞERS CO-PILOT is a 2,363-item NFT collection, primarily focused on membership and future potential incentives.
“The artworks represent the artists' interpretation of each of the three roads. Holding one will become an integral part of your PORSCHΞ 911 journey down the road,” explains their NFT collection description.
PORSCHΞ 911, on the other hand, has created a virtual world for Porsche 911 lovers. As NFT owners travel down the virtual road, they can collect rewards redeemable in web3 and real-world activations.
10KTF Gucci Grail
Gucci’s 10KTF Gucci Grail collection is a collaboration between Gucci and digital artist Wagmi-san (10KTF). The collection is geared towards holders of existing blue-chip PFP NFTs (like Bored Ape Yacht Club or Cool Cats). Wagmi-san drew inspiration from Gucci’s own fashion collection to create items that NFT owners can use to accessorize their existing PFP NFTs.
The Next 100 Years of Gucci
In addition to 10KTF Gucci Grail, Gucci also minted The Next 100 Years of Gucci (an art NFT collection designed by 28 artists reflecting on Gucci’s past, present, and future) and SUPERPLASTIC:SUPERGUCCI (a collaboration between Gucci and Superplastic where NFTs were redeemable for 8-inch tall ceramic sculptures).
Dolce&Gabbana: DGFamily collection
Dolce&Gabbana dropped a collection reminiscent of their iconic jewelry boxes. Each tier of the Dolce&Gabbana: DGFamily collection offers various membership benefits. The benefits start with membership access and escalate to virtual events and an offsite with the Dolce&Gabbana team.
Givenchy’s Chito x Givenchy NFT
Other luxury brands like Givenchy and their partnership with streetwear brand, inBetweeners, have also found ways to utilize web3 technology to strengthen their communities and offer members exclusive perks or ways to contribute to bigger missions. For instance, all proceeds from Givenchy’s Chito x Givenchy NFT collection benefited a clean oceans charity.
How can I buy a luxury NFT?
Like other NFT drops, the easiest way to know when a brand you love is launching its own collection is to watch its social media channels or Discord.
🧠 Q&A
In web3, the term “gas fee” refers to the payment needed to execute transactions on the blockchain. OpenSea doesn’t control gas fees, set gas fees, or receive any of the gas fees incurred by users on the platform. Instead, they all go to network validators or miners. When you start the NFT purchase process using OpenSea, you’ll see the gas fee broken down by your wallet provider, so you can watch the fee refresh and complete the transaction when it’s low.
Luxury NFTs operate on blockchain technology, making it possible to verify their ownership and easily transfer them from one owner to the next. Ethereum, Solana, and Klaytn are three examples of blockchains that store NFTs.
A blockchain is a digitally distributed ledger that records transactions and information across a decentralized network. Most blockchains are verified by many nodes (read: computers), which is why you’ll hear them described as “decentralized.” Different blockchains may verify their transactions using different methods but ultimately operate similarly.
Blockchain technology allows users to easily transfer, collect, and verify their NFTs. The provenance of an NFT is one of its biggest advantages.
Web3 technology is still new and constantly evolving, so while no single action guarantees protection, there are best practices that can help. The best rule of thumb is that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Never share your wallet’s seed phrase, be careful when taking actions using your wallet, and make sure to thoroughly evaluate NFTs before buying.
OpenSea also has an icon visible via a blue checkmark badge on a collection or account. A blue checkmark badge on an account means that account has been verified. A blue checkmark badge on a collection means the collection belongs to a verified account and has significant interest or sales. (OpenSea does not endorse verified accounts or badged collections, and OpenSea makes no representations regarding the NFTs in a verified account or badged collection.)
OpenSea makes no representations or guarantees regarding the collections highlighted in this article. Users must do their own research and use their own judgment before buying any NFT, including those included in the collections highlighted in this article. The descriptions of the collections highlighted in this article were adapted from descriptions provided by the NFT creators, not OpenSea.
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