No Place for a Girl
8Sian founder Nicole Yap overcame naysayers and trolls to champion representation, cultural preservation and creativity in Web3
Uniqlo, Dolce & Gabbana and Tommy Hilfiger are just three of the major brands to have shown their support for 8Sian, a Malaysian NFT project launched in 2021. Weaving in “intricate details steeped in historical significance”, the collection of 8,888 artworks depicting Asian women is owned by more than 4,000 buyers, and celebrates the diversity of women from across the continent.
In March this year, 8Sian participated in virtual platform Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week, where the team forged partnerships with international labels. Four months later, 8Sian announced its collaboration with billion-dollar online apparel shopping platform Cider. 8Sian and Cider launched a virtual interactive museum, where visitors’ avatars can walk around and buy
outfits worn by 30 of the collection’s avatars.
Founder Nicole Yap appeared on the fourth episode of Tatler TV: Meta
Versed Season 2 in August— where she also offered select viewers an exclusive hoodie NFT emblazoned with the logos of both Tatler and 8Sian—to explain where the project came from and where it is headed.
Yap, who is Malaysian Chinese, said that 8Sian fills a gap in the digital era by preserving and promoting Asia’s diverse and manifold cultures. She said that when she started in Web3, there was a dearth of Asian representation in the space. Her team was aware of ignorance within the online community: for example, some users would say they couldn’t tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese people; others assumed that “Malaysian” meant only the Malay people. Yap also received comments that Asian NFTS weren’t needed, and faced discrimination on social platform Discord, where users not only took issue with her nationality, but also said that she should be kicked out because “this is not a girls’ place; this is for boys only”.
This inspired her to launch her series of NFTS of women displaying different cultural elements: Cambodian headpieces, Taiwanese bubble tea, Chinese qipao dresses and peacock feathers representing the national bird of India. “We aren’t just yellow-skinned; we have [different skin tones] and are all beautiful in our own ways,” Yap said, adding that 8Sian was created to educate. “I want our kids and grandkids to see representation in the metaverse one day.”
Yap also discussed the growing number of connections across industries, citing the NFT project Boss Beauties and its collaboration with Marvel; Tiffany & Co’s custom jewellery for Crypto Punks; and the brands 8Sian has worked with, stressing that large fashion houses need to stay on top of current trends and technologies to leverage the opportunities afforded by Web3.
With so many possibilities yet so little regulation in the metaverse, Yap acknowledged the Web3 space is rife with scams, and that people are wise to be wary. But she said she believes that the technology is here to stay, and the key is not to focus on how crypto could be used to launder money but how to bring in more trades.
Gatekeepers and trolls may have tried to deter Yap from striving to succeed in Web3, but she isn’t intimidated; she’s even prepared to play the doubters at their own game, with the team considering a new collection centred on men. “We need to be fluid,” she said. “If [male NFTS are] what the community wants, we will definitely answer their prayers.”