NFT Mainstream Adoption - From Adidas To Zara
A 161-year-old watch brand knows how to keep up with the times as it recently embraced NFT mainstream adoption.
TAG Heuer, the luxury Swiss brand established in 1860, surprised the world this 2022 when it announced this month the launch of its NFT-inspired watch.
Prior to its release, the company’s French CEO Frederic Arnault bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) in May 2022.
And the big boss didn’t stop there.
Arnault uploaded it – a monkey wearing a black BAYC cap and a black eye patch and showing off his set of sparkling light blue teeth – on his Twitter account (@f_arnault) as his profile picture.
COPYRIGHT_WI: Published on https://washingtonindependent.com/nft-mainstream-adoption/ by William Willis on 2022-06-22T01:33:02.324Z
So, perhaps it would be safe to say that the 27-year-old CEO of TAG Heuer is an NFT fan!
TAG Heuer wasn’t the first one, though, to explore NFT mainstream adoption.
The Mainstreaming Of NFTs
The Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 smartwatch is designed to show through its digital dial someone’s NFT collection.
CryptoPotato quoted Tag Heuer on its views regarding its timely NFT mainstream adoption:
“„We seek to create unique, exclusive experiences that capture the zeitgeist.
The zeitgeist it’s referring to is, of course, the NFTs.
The new NFT-inspired smartwatch can display NFT artworks when connected to a digital wallet, aka crypto wallet, through the wearer’s smartphone.
At present, two crypto wallets are supported: Metamask and Ledger.
Prior to this innovative NFT mainstream adoption, the Swiss watch company approved cryptocurrency as a form of payment in May 2022 on its U.S. online store.
As the young CEO Frederic Arnault said about this bold move:
“„TAG Heuer would adopt what promises to be a globally integrated technology in the near future . . . one that will deeply transform our industry and beyond.
Retail Drive reported that TAG Heuer signed a business deal with Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay.
The U.S. online store allows up to $10,000 worth of cryptocurrency transactions.
Tag Heuer currently accepts Bitcoin and Dogecoin as well as ten more other cryptocurrencies.
What could be the next brand of luxury watch that will also start NFT mainstream adoption?
NFTs And Other Brands
From timepieces, let's move to clothes, shoes, and fashion accessories.
NFT mainstream adoption can be seen among these three signature labels that are to die for: Gucci, Prada, and Valentino.
Per Retail Drive, Gucci teamed up with international entertainment brand Superplastic.
It also reached out to online store 10KTF, which sells digital accessories crafted by someone known only as Wagmi-san.
The three will work on an NFT collaboration.
In June 2022, Prada launched an NFT collection based on the Ethereum blockchain and on a 2019 collection.
Before that, a Polygon-based NFT collection materialized in collaboration with Adidas.
Who would have thought NFT mainstream adoption could be this fashionable!
In June 2021, Valentino hosted an NFT exhibition by London-based artist Matthew Stone.
Then in September of the same year, the renowned Italian fashion house commissioned American visual artist and composer Sara Ludy for “Astral Garden.”
The said NFT artwork was for Valentino’s 2021 women’s collection called Roman Palazzo Fall 21.
Zara also launched in 2021 an NFT collection.
This 2022, the Spanish fashion retailer giant introduced another NFT collection, and this time, on the Korean metaverse platform Zepeto.
Other brands that jumped into the NFT mainstream adoption include the following:
- Bulgari
- Dolce & Gabanna
- Clinique
- Coachella
- Coca-Cola
- Givenchy
- Lamborghini
- McDonald’s
- Ray-Ban
- Super Bowl
Let’s Wait And See
With all the clamor for NFT mainstream adoption, not everyone, however, is keen to follow suit.
Unlike many of its contemporaries, the luxury goods company Hermès, according to Retail Drive, decided to wait on how these NFTs will further develop.
As CEO Axel Dumas mentioned in an April 2022 shareholder meeting, embracing an NFT mainstream adoption “is not a priority.”
As Dumas told Hermès shareholders:
“„For the time being, we’re interested to see how this world evolves and changes . . . we’re mainly interested to learn and monitor, rather than rush into the metaverse.
Even TIME Magazine didn’t waste time to catch up with the NFT trend.
Since September 2021, it has already launched at least five collections, with the first one involving 40 NFT artists.
Now while Hermès (and other brands) take their time, the number of brands doing NFT mainstream adoption seems to grow bigger by the day.
About The Authors
William Willis - William Willis is a freelance writer and social media manager who specializes in assisting finance professionals and Fintech entrepreneurs in growing their online audience and attracting more paying customers. William worked as a bank teller and virtual assistant for financial firms in the United States and the United Kingdom for six years before beginning her writing career. William is a strong force in the workplace, inspiring others to work hard and excel with his optimistic attitude and boundless energy. He enjoys hiking, crocheting, and playing video games with his children in his spare time.