OG Of The Bored Ape Club PFP Trend Launches NFT Blockchain Fashion Game for NYFW

Craig Redman, OG for profile picture NFT popularized by Bored Ape Yacht Club, Crypto Punks et al launch blockchain fashion game Dour Fits to coincide with New York Fashion Week.

The game, developed by former Apple designer Adam Johnson, is an extension of Redman’s last 10,000 strong NFT drop of the same name based on his signature Darcel character.

The NY-based artist created the cyclopean egg-shaped protagonist in 2008. Just like Bored Ape Club (official) with adidas and Gucci, or Crypto Punks (unofficial) with Tiffany & Co, he has since collaborated with brands such as Nike, adidas, Louis Vuitton , Chanel, Cocoa Cola and Ikea.

In 2012, Redman collaborated with Colette on an exhibition to celebrate the iconic Paris concept store’s 15th anniversary. The show featured 150 Darcel versions of Colette’s famous friends – including Karl Lagerfeld, Steve Jobs, Anna Wintour and Kanye West. Colette co-founder Sarah Andelman, French PR guru Lucien Pagès and many more have personally had Darcels as their Instagram PFP ever since.

The Dour Fits game is centered around community and fashion. The Dour Darcel and Dour Fits community of owners will be able to link their wallets to play, and style their Darcel character in a virtual dressing room. They will use the properties from their own NFTs – which become virtual in-game bundles of clothes – along with more in-game options to compete in themed challenges.

“We’ve leveraged the metadata embedded in the NFTs and used the technology to create something else,” Redman told me.

He added that the challenges will relate to different calendar events, including Paris Fashion Week and the Academy Awards, and change according to the season. The Darcel NFT community will vote to determine the winners, and the prizes will involve both NFTs and phygital apparel found both on the blockchain and in real life.

He was concerned that the project should have a phygital dynamic. “I like the idea of ​​NFT projects having a foot in real life as well as the metaverse,” he said. “You have to have both.”

The NFTs will be sent to the winners’ wallets and will also be tradable on the secondary market.

And while the game is currently only for Darcel owners, Redman says he’s working on an app to bring it to a wider audience.

Redman joined the NFT conversation in March and minted 10,000 Dour Darcels, an algorithm generated from his original illustrations. It was followed by a limited edition NFT collaboration with Colette, giving the store that closed its physical doors in 2017 a new life in the Metaverse.

“Fashion has always played an integral part of Darcel’s personality, so creating a collection based on this – articulating his taste and cultural references – is something that is very exciting for me,” he says, adding that “community is the most crucial part of the project because it is up to them to shape the direction.”

“The brands that have entered the Web 3.0 or NFT space most successfully are those like Gucci and adidas that have partnered with members of the existing Web 3.0 community.”

Dour Fits is Redman’s third NFT drop, and the characters and looks of the fashion-focused collection are based on the eclectic style of hipster New Yorkers. Darcel fans will recognize some of the 200 features – like Anna Wintour ‘Bangs’ hair and Ralph Lauren ‘Mane’ hair – from Redman’s show at Colette in 2012.

“I’m leaning into fashion with Darcel now more than ever,” he concludes, “and there’s a lot down the road for us to explore…”