IVX has launched on Ethereum at 0x2997b2e267be1b97a7525a6e9312b0c708d7f740 and you can mint at iv-x.xyz! In this post I will try to explain what IVX is and what IVX aims to do.
So, what is IVX? IVX is a generative streetwear fashion brand that exists on both Ethereum and the physical world. IVX was designed with a single goal in mind, to create clothing that is unique to the owner. IVX is a collaboration- it is in the name and in the design of the protocol. The IV in IVX stands for me, and the general brand, and the X stands for the common nomenclature that people use to denote collaborations. The concept is that every piece is a collaboration between you, the minter, and the brand.
The current problem that exists in fashion today is that there is no uniqueness on the consumer’s side when buying an item of clothing. The “rarity” of an item is only based on how hard it was to buy it on drop and the perceived supply of the item. Even regarding the rarest fashion items in the world, duplicates are almost always sold.
IVX solves this problem. The way the protocol works is simple. When a user mints a token, their design is generated and their wallet address is stored into the protocol as their creator ID based on the time of minting. The design is generated using a seed that is calculated from a hash between the user’s creator ID and their wallet address. So, the seed will always be the same from when the user initially interacted with the contract and onwards. The generated output is an initial design that is then masked on top of a grid of generated “monograms'“. The “monogram” is a 20x20 grid of blocks of pixels that is generated based on the seed and is unique for each user. By using the “monogram” as the mask for the principle image it makes, it so each output is inherently unique and generative in nature. On redemption, a physical shirt will be produced using the “monogram” as the basis, and the shirt will also be shipped to the physical address that is supplied on redemption.
Why is this considered an alpha release? The business model that I am choosing to follow for the launch of IVX is more aligned with that of a startup. That is why I am deploying lean and the initial price, and the initial supply are reflective of that. The initial supply will be 222 and if there is appropriate demand I will increase it to 444, with the initial price being .16 ETH for the first 222, then increasing to .44 ETH for the last 222. I have thought about the pricing for the collection at depth and I have come to the conclusion that .16 ETH is the correct amount. I know users take a risk from minting in this space, so my goal was to price my collection to mitigate that risk as much as possible. It is priced in a way to cover the overhead cost of producing the shirts, but also to appropriately fund the development of the next phase of the protocol. The purpose of this initial sale is to gauge interest and provide funding to further expand the brand. Considering there is little marketing being put into the launch of this project, my goal is to mint the total supply in about a month. In my eyes, that would feel like a success.
What do I get on mint and redemption? On mint you will receive a token. This token is a key for two things: 1) redemption 2) access to the private community. The private community will be explained more below. The system is already designed so you are able to mint tokens and redeem them for physical shirts whenever you please. Each mint will produce the same design per user but with different rarities. The rarities are stored in the token metadata, so the image from mint to mint will be the same, but the metadata will change. The rarity is calculated using the transaction hash as the seed, making it random from a user perspective. There are four different tiers to the rarity structure that can be seen down below. There are also five different colors (yellow, blue, green, red, and purple) that the items with rarity can be printed in, all with equal probability. The first tier is “normal”, meaning that the shirt will be printed with the black and white design. The second tier is rare, so only the text of the shirt will be printed in the respective color. The third tier is slightly rarer, wherein both the design and the text is printed in the same respective color. The fourth tier is the rarest, for both the design and the text are printed in color, but the colors are different. The rarities will be included on the physical shirt upon redemption. Lastly, the back is the bytecode from the smart contract, which is also masked with the “monogram” and letters are shaded black based on an algorithm which uses the transaction hash as the seed. You can see examples of multiple mints from the same owner below.
What does this private community entail? The secondary goal of the brand is build out a private fashion community known as the IVxCollective. The point of IVxCollective is to build a community full of serious fashion enthusiasts, designers, and collectors. I strive to make a community that is distinct from existing fashion online communities where no real discussion of the brands or pieces takes place. Rather, they merely echo whatever niche they are in. I know there are a lot of people out there who feel similarly to me and are looking for an online community of people who represent the same values as them.
What are the values instilled into this brand? The core value of this brand is collaboration. I consider every minter to be a collaborator, because while the initial design is mine, the other half of the design is generated off the user’s wallet address. No shirt could exist without both parties, so it is inherently a collaboration.
There are some extra details regarding functionality. When a shirt is redeemed, it cannot be sold on a secondary market place - this is by design. This is because the NFT is proof of ownership of the shirt. Secondary markets can decouple the NFT from the physical shirt, which is antithetical to the brand. Without the NFT, the shirt is not considered a real IVX shirt. I do not care if it is real or not - the NFT is what proves the shirt is real. Thus, I am working on building out a secondary marketplace for the trading and validating these shirts. This is planned to be rolled out with phase 2. The NFTs can still be traded on secondary markets prior to redemption. They can also be traded by the user: if you want to trade with a friend or someone on Discord, you can do so by interacting with the contract itself. The private discord will also have a channel for you to do so.
Do you have a roadmap? In a way: yes. However, seeing how Azuki replaced the standardized roadmap with a mindmap, the mindmap seems more fitting for this use case. I choose to use a mindmap over roadmap simply because things are subject to change. If better alternatives to my current ideas arise for this protocol I feel like pivoting would be imperative. In my eyes, a mindmap is more suited for the startup-based approach and will afford me greater flexibility. Nevertheless, the mindmap and the general goals of the project are below. I know a lot of the descriptions may seem vague, but I’d rather keep some of the details to myself for the time being.
MINDMAP
PHASE 1: Alpha launch
Timeline: Late March
Description: Basic minting and redemption is available.
Goals: Mint total supply in ~1 month
PHASE 2a: Revamped Minting Contract
Timeline: Mid-June
Description: I can only say its really cool and it will be available to IVX Alpha holders at the time.
PHASE 2b: Drop first collection
Timeline: Late-June / Early-July
Description: Launch the first collection (also has some interesting functionality)
PHASE 2c: Launch Secondary Market for Redeemed Goods
Timeline: Late-July / Early August
Description: On-chain secondary market for trustfully trading redeemed IVX goods
PHASE 3: Collaborations
Timeline: On-going
Description: Open collaborations with other brands/artists
PHASE IVX: Perpetuity
Timeline: Post PHASE 2
Description: Setup a recurring drop schedule with different collections. This is where the brand starts to truly build and grow.
PHASE ?: Metaverse
Timeline: TBD
Description: The goal is not to only have clothing that you could wear physically, but I want all IVX goods to be interoperable between both the physical and virtual worlds. However, a virtual world or design system for one is yet to be well-established so we will hold until so.
Become a generative fashion house
One of the main goals of IVX is to break into the world of high-fashion. This isn’t just referring to quality, but recognition in the fashion world. The goal is to get IVX to become the first ever generative luxury fashion house.
I am aware this mindmap is relatively short. I feel like there is a general “fog-of-war” in which you can realistically see into the future. This is what I am currently seeing and the farthest I can see. This mindmap is definitely on the conservative side, but that is due to the fact that I respect how hard building something of quality is and I want to build it right.
I can only promise one thing. I truly believe this is going to be really cool. If you want to be part of this journey you can mint the initial collection.
Team
Currently the only member of the team is me, Jack Short aka IV. I consider myself a designer at heart and I just happen to be able to code. I have designed and built this whole system on my own, so this has truly been a passion project of mine. If the initial sale of the NFTs is successful I do plan on taking more people on, but only for strategic purposes. As you can already see I am already more than capable of building out every aspect of this system, so the team will always be small and nimble. I will be looking for strong players in this space and other spaces in the future to partner with. For now, it’s just me but I do hope to grow the team more in the future.
Any questions? Reach out to me on twitter @IVxProtocol
Whats the website? iv-x.xyz