Diesel drops rising music talent in NFT Drop, Levi’s AI-generated virtual models and more: Web3 Drops of the Week

The big story this week comes from Diesel, who this year has committed to leaning further into the digital space and embracing the virtual zeitgeist. This week, the fashion house launched the first drop from its latest project. The initiative deploys Web3 to foster relationships between emerging music talent and their fan bases.

The launch’s numbers indicate it was a success, and the brand is making waves offline as much as it is online. But can it maintain its reputation as it moves forward on its digital journey?

In other notable news, denim powerhouse Levi’s has jumped on the virtual modeling bandwagon. It plans to focus this year on its digital transformation journey and invest in new technology to improve the e-commerce experience. Using artificial intelligence, the label intends to diversify its shopping platforms through hyper-realistic avatars, thereby reducing the need for human models.

Turning to China, as the rules surrounding digital collectibles and token trading on the mainland are relaxed, the country’s e-commerce giants are back with a bang. As part of its spring promotion, Tmall invited five of its top performing brands to launch their own digital collectibles – and the amazing response across social media channels shows that China’s appetite for virtual assets is greater than ever.

> Happening now!@HoneyLuvmusic dropped her first #Web3Music track ‘FASHION’ on Public Pressure. This is the first drop in our partnership w/ @DIESEL with a downloadable soundtrack featuring exclusive artwork created by visual designer Nic Paranoia.

👁‍🗨 pic.twitter.com/g2BkwgQrho

— PUBLIC PRESSURE (@jointhepressure) March 15, 2023

Diesel marries music and technology in the metaverse for his latest Web3 success story

What happened: Diesel is expanding his presence in the metaverse. On March 15, the luxury house and Gen Z favorite teamed up with international Web3 media company Public Pressure to unveil the first commercial campaign from their partnership, which the brands announced last year.

Their latest initiative aims to “celebrate the fabric and future of underground music by promoting cutting-edge artists, Web3 culture and technology,” as released in the release statement.

The inaugural nonfungible token (NFT), the first in a planned “Discovery” series of four token collections, featured a downloadable soundtrack, Fashion by LA-based DJ/producer HoneyLuv, along with a piece of exclusive artwork by Italian designer Nic Paranoia. The content’s authenticity is verified via Kilt’s identity blockchain protocol.

The verdict: The first release sold out within four hours with over 1,200 tracks minted, generating nearly $50,000 in revenue. In the offline world, an artist would need approximately 11,700,000 streams to earn a similar amount, according to the label. Spotify, for example, pays artists an average of $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. Although word has spread this year that NFTs are dead, the impressive results of this project suggest otherwise.

As for Diesel, the brand is banking on the art and power of collaboration to help it achieve its Web3 ambitions. Late last year, the label teamed up with popular NFT collective Hape on a streetwear-inspired release of digital collectibles. As a fashion brand synonymous with supporting socially responsible youth culture, the house has planned to establish itself as a “patron of discovery” via Public Pressure, aiming to stimulate direct interactions between new artists and their fans.

The brand released a first look at its virtually generated models this week. Photo: Levi’s

.Levi’s launches AI-generated virtual models to enhance inclusivity and consumer e-commerce experience

What happened: Levi’s announced Wednesday that it will test AI-generated virtual models as a new e-commerce tool. In an effort to leverage its artificial intelligence efforts and increase diversity across the brand, a series of body-inclusive avatars are being developed to supplement the company’s human models and elevate the consumer experience.

As described by Amy Gershkoff Bolles, global head of digital and emerging technology strategy at Levi Strauss & Co., the technology will allow Levi’s to create “hyper-realistic models of any body type, age, size and skin tone”.

The verdict: The brand is partnering with LaLaLand.ai, an AI-powered digital fashion studio, to expand model availability. Right now, the company’s e-commerce site and app typically show one model per product, but this new development will open doors to more inclusive experiences, including allowing customers to view products on multiple models that are more suited to their body types.

From Lil Miquela to Ayayi, virtual models are on a worldwide growth trajectory. In China alone, revenues from the digitized influencer market are expected to reach US$3 billion (RMB 20.5 billion) this year, according to research firm iiMedia. Although the Levi’s project paves the way for a more inclusive future in fashion, the boom in virtual models has raised concerns about whether these devices will replace the need for human counterparts due to their convenience. However, the brand has made sure to emphasize that this new direction won’t stop it from continuing to hire real, diverse models as well.

Tmall’s return to digital collectibles suggests another surge in virtual assets is on China’s horizon. Photo: Tmall

Tmall’s spring campaign invites retail giants to launch digital collectibles. Is China’s virtual asset market back on the rise?

What happened: For this year’s spring campaign, Chinese e-commerce giant Tmall has unveiled its ‘My New Spring Flowers in Bloom’ project, which harnesses the creativity of five of the country’s well-known brands – including Vans, iQOO and L’Oréal – through NFTs.

To mark the annual membership event, Tmall rolled out a digital collectible series of limited-edition virtual flowers for the five participants, each designed to represent the brands’ new products of the month.

As part of the project, Tmall also organized a series of raffles for the public to win exclusive gifts, while brand members could obtain digital collectibles for free. After receiving the collectible, holders could also earn exclusive membership rights associated with the corresponding brand’s products.

The verdict: After a number of digital token-dedicated platforms were shut down, including Tencent’s, brands in China had taken a short break from digital collectibles.

However, in recent times, as rules for NFT trading have been relaxed on the mainland, the trend is showing signs of being back on the upswing. In fact, it was announced this week that China’s investment in the metaverse will surpass that of the West by the end of 2023, thanks to factors such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and the launch of the national digital asset exchange, which was announced in January this year.

This growing demand for token-based experiences was also evident during Tmall’s campaign, which generated colossal exposure among online users. On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, the hashtags “My New Spring Flowers in Bloom” and “Annual member day on Tmall” generated over 140 million and 6.57 billion views, respectively.