Andrew Naval of Nobel House Distributing Inc.
Andrew Naval, operations manager of Noble House Distributing Inc., is well-aware of the growing domain of the metaverse. As an example, fashion company KENZO has recently dabbled in the very enticing concept behind NFTs and repurposed how a brand sells a limited-edition piece—a very progressive and smart move in Naval’s opinion.
Just two months ago, the French Maison jumped on the metaverse bandwagon and officially announced its debut of a limited-edition collection of 100 NFTs, in celebration of the KENZO Boke Flower collection by the Japanese designer and newly appointed artistic director, Nigo. This marked the brand’s official entry into Web3— also known as Web 3.0, a new iteration of the World Wide Web based on blockchain technology.
Balmain also partnered with Barbie (Mattel) recently, releasing three one-of-a-kind NFTs for Barbie and Ken avatars—styled from head-to-toe by the luxury fashion house—as well as a set of Barbie-sized designs that make up a digital and a physical art collection.
Versace, meanwhile, is set to enter the metaverse having filed a trademark application expressing its intention to offer virtual clothing, eyewear, footwear, perfumes, jewelry, and more.
“Locally—as with our multi-label concepts—we are quite a long way from stepping into this new virtual realm,” Naval explains. “I think the challenge is for the forerunners who are already dipping their toes in the metaverse pool. Until we are all on the same page and fully know what the metaverse will look like, the consumer will likely be skeptical: there are many who don’t even know what the running definition of the metaverse is.”
He adds, “Another challenge is, while we are all striving to be more sustainable and waste less resources, the transition from reality to virtual reality will be a huge undertaking for any brand. However long it may take, brands have to be patient and cognizant of the fact that there has to be a societal paradigm shift wherein gratification is felt when one’s acquisition of virtual merchandise equals that of a tangible, physical purchase.”
Naval paints us this picture: a luxury virtual store run by virtual personal shoppers, showcasing virtual merchandise. The pandemic taught us and our clientele that we could simply dial in and connect through Zoom, Google Meet, Viber, and other platforms to promote our merchandise virtually.
“Through dark social channels, our sales force toured our VIPs through the store and its latest collections,” Naval says. “Our loyal customers also realized that they had to embrace shopping online and that e-commerce is here to stay. The retail landscape changed—is still changing—and only the retail gods know what the actual metaverse will look like.”
Although Naval appreciates these movements in the luxury fashion industry, they, as a distributor and franchisee, have not engaged with these initiatives on a local level. But, they are definitely looking forward to the day when that door of opportunity opens.
Naval ponders, “What if physical malls became virtual malls? What if that ‘It’ bag you’re on multiple waiting lists for can suddenly be your avatar’s? The possibilities are borderless, endless. It may render certain industries obsolete but where a door closes, a window opens. We just have to be open, and ready.”