PIXEL PERFECT

While staying on top of trends in the real world can be challenging enough, the rise of cryptocurrency and fashion NFTs have added another dimension to our wardrobes that is entirely worth decoding.

- Divya Bala

The thrill is the same: the meditative-yet-determined scroll through page after page of fashion e-commerce sites. In search of something for a special occasion, I settle on a glittering, fringed amethyst two-set from Beyoncé favourite Dundas. A little more out there than I would usually go for but I figure it’s a good time to be adventurous. There’s the dopamine release that comes with “make an offer” that intensifies immediately as it’s accepted – the look is mine.

The only thing that’s different? There’ll be no tracked package to tear open, no textile to touch or try on. Far from physical, this look is a matter of pixels, a fashion non-fungible token (NFT) designed to be worn only in a digital space.

Like a Birkin and a waitlist, fashion and the metaverse are perfect – and inevitable – partners. Both ride the zeitgeist, privilege exclusivity and confuse the masses – and major fashion houses are getting in on the action. In 2021, users sent more than $US44.2 billion through NFT marketplaces, a steep rise from $US106 million in 2020.