Here are the powerhouse designer brands spearheading the Web3 evolution in fashion.

Designer brands like Gucci or Balenciaga are no strangers to adopting new technologies so that we, the beloved consumer, have the best experience. From sourcing, supply chain or garment innovation, technology is a large pillar for the fashion industry that enables designer brands to flourish in the modern age.

So it’s no surprise that designer brands have already started exploring the Web3 even though the space is in its infancy. In early 2021, the worlds largest fashion corporation, LVMH partnered with Richemont (Prada & Cartier) to build Aura, the first global luxury blockchain to tackle issues concerning authenticity, responsible sourcing and fashion sustainability.

So which brands have become the Web3 pioneers?

For those that are not completely aware of what the Web3 is, here is a quick breakdown of its evolution (a must read!). For the purpose of this article, I will presume that you know the basics of the Web 3 (crypto, NFT’s, blockchain & the Metaverse) so we can dig straight into the designer brands offering crypto payments.

1. Philipp Plein

No one does Web3 better than fashion ‘bad boy' turned crypto entrepreneur, Philipp Plein. As the OG designer brand to adopt crypto payments back in August 2021, Philipp Plein is bullish on spearheading Web3 strategies in fashion even going as far as releasing his own NFT marketplace, Mona.

In an interview with Vogue Business, the 44 year old Munich born entrepreneur and sole owner of the Philipp Plein fashion house gave some insight as to what draws him in to Web3:

“The metaverse is not there yet, because it is not yet user-friendly enough. But, where the internet took 20 years to develop, I think this will take two to five years, because technology is faster today. In five years, we will be a brand factor in this and I believe it is going to completely replace the normal e-commerce on the internet with that three-dimensional world. It could lead to a digital shopping experience that is equal to a store experience.”

With his new Web3 focus, Plein now accepts 24 types of cryptocurrency payments including Bitcoin and Ether on it e-commerce platform as well as most of their brick and mortar outlets. The fashion house is also accepting smaller crypto coins such as BNB Mainnet, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Nano, OmiseGo, Paxos Standard Token, Qtum and Tron.

The German born designer concluded that:

“Being among the most progressive and disruptive fashion brands is nothing new for PHILIPP PLEIN. I believe that cryptocurrencies are the future and my team and I have made a major commitment in time and resources, performing all necessary system modifications in order to adopt this new type of currency. I am very pleased to be able to offer our customers this additional payment tool”.

2. Gucci

The second on this list is ofcourse the daring fashion house of Gucci. Since its inception in Italy in 1921, Gucci has always been a fast adopter of new technologies when it comes to their sourcing, manufacturing or even material innovation. So their announcement last month of accepting crypto payments was truly expected.

Gucci announced that they would accept 10 currencies, including, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Wrapped Bitcoin, Litecoin, Shiba Inu and five stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. However, what comes as a surprise is that Gucci has also announced that they will accept Dogecoin which ofcourse, was originally a “meme” cryptocurrency.

However there is a catch. Only selected Gucci stores will be accepting crypto payments which include:

• Wooster street in New York
• Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles
• Miami Design District
• Phipps Plaza in Atlanta
• The Shopers at Crystals in Las Vegas

How it works is that crypto payments will be accepted through a QR code or NFC reader on their POS system that connects with your crypto wallet. Gucci president and CEO, Marco Bizzarri tells Vogue Business that:

“Gucci is always looking to embrace new technologies when they can provide an enhanced experience for our customers. Now that we are able to integrate cryptocurrencies within our payment system, it is a natural evolution for those customers who would like to have this option available to them.”

3. Hublot

Luxury Watchmaker, Hublot, is an oldie but a goodie since they have been accepting cryptocurrencies since 2018! This luxury watch brand went full in in adopting crypto by even launching the very first watch that can only be purchased by cryptocurrency, and in this case, Bitcoin.

To celebrate 10 years of crypto, Hublot released The Big Bang Meca - 10 P2P Limited Edition (as seen above) in 2018 which is the first ever watch that can ONLY be purchased by Bitcoin. Only 210 watch pieces were created at the time in partnership with Asia’s leading digital asset brokerage firm, OS Limited.

The meaning behind P2P is ode to the foundations of crypto, which is ofcourse a peer to peer payment system which Bitcoin was founded on. The watch is also only limited to 210 pieces as it is a reference to the global limit of Bitcoins which is fixed at 21 million. The item is available for purchase exclusively online.

4. Tag Heuer

Another luxury watchmaker makes this list and its no other than LVMH-owned Swiss watch retailer, Tag Heuer. Late last month, Tag Heuer announced that it would start accepting 12 cryptocurrencies through Bitpay, including Dogecoin and Bitcoin on its US website. The catch is that the maximum spend on a crypto transaction is $10,000.

27 year old CEO Frédéric Arnault has been extremely bullish on supporting the new trends in Web3 especially around crypto and NFT’s. Arnault is known to personally own NFT collections like Clone X PFP by Rtfkt through a collaboration with Takashi Murakami, an Invisible Friend by Markus Magnusson and even a Bored Ape Yacht Club.

In a statement, the son of LVMH co-founder Bernard Arnault, confirmed his position of the Web3 and what the future holds for the brand in the space:

“Tag Heuer would adopt what promises to be a globally integrated technology in the near future despite the fluctuations – one that will deeply transform our industry and beyond…This new crypto payment feature is just the beginning of many exciting projects for Tag Heuer in the Web3 universes.”

The Swiss Luxury brand push into the Web3 will be supported by crypto wallets like Exodus wallet and Ledger Wallet. Unfortunately, Tag Heuer does not accept digital currencies in its physical stores yet but the company noted that this is definitely in the works.

5. Off-White

This designer brand definitely belongs on this list due to its innovative and visionary founder, Virgil Abloh. Off-White, a label founded by Abloh in 2012, is one of the hottest designer brands known for its street chic designs now offers cryptocurrencies as a payment type to its Gen Z consumers.

Off-White, accepts cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, Binance Coin and Ripple as well as stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin. However, there is a catch. Only Off White’s flagships stores in Paris, Milan and London will be accepting crypto coins to test the payments demand.

Prior to purchasing, consumers will need to pass an automated fraud check and once they are verified, there will be no payment limit on cryptocurrency transactions. However, refunds for items using cryptocurrency will be issued in store credit via the local currency.

The label’s move into Web3 was expected as Abloh was quite fascinated by the space and he even developed a DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) called ‘SKYSCRAPER’ prior to his passing. SKYSCRAPER was developed to be a digital space that would sell NFT’s and physical works by contemporary artists.

6. Balenciaga

Balenciaga is the newcomer to the crypto trend having announced just 2 weeks ago that they will now accept cryptocurrencies as payment. The luxury brand will now accept the major coins ie Bitcoin and Ethereum and will be offering the new payment in their US flagship stores in New Yorks Madison Avenue and Beverly Hill’s Rodeo Drive.

The company confirmed in the announcement that:

“Balenciaga is thinking long-term about crypto, and fluctuations in currency value are nothing new.”

The luxury brand is the second fashion house in the Kering Luxury Group to start accepting cryptocurrencies. Gucci ofcourse, also announced last month that they would start accepting crypto in their move to place themselves as a first time mover in the Web3 space.

Balenciaga shared that they hope to add in more stores and ecommerce functionalities that offer Web3 experiences in the next few years. They also confirmed that more currencies will be accepted at a later date so that customers have more payment options at checkout.

7. The Fragrance Shop

Now the last brand on this list isn’t exactly a designer brand itself but it sure does house them. The Fragrance Shop, which holds perfume from designer brands like Dior, Chanel or Tom Ford has also announced that they will now be accepting cryptocurrencies as payment.

This Beauty retailer announced in early April this year that they partnered with Bitpay so that consumers can pay with crypto via the e-tailers website. The move was to bolster its existing payment options of traditional credit/debit card as well as BNPL. The currencies accepted are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Dash, Dogecoin and Ethereum.

Merrick Theobald, the Vice President of Marketing at Bitpay stated that:

“The Fragrance Shop realises the potential for crypto to transform the fragrance and beauty industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale. Our goal at BitPay is to make accepting crypto a seamless process and increase adoption as crypto is the future of payments”.

The Fragrance Shop’s decision to enter the crypto space was quite obvious after ethical beauty brand, Lush, had announced that they would accept bitcoin payments in 2017. It seems that the faster these beauty brands start adopting crypto, the more they capture market share especially amongst Gen Z consumers.

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