Technical founder Iddris Sandu launches LNQ Marketplace where fashion gets access to the blockchain

Iddris Sandu is a 25-year-old technologist and founder of Spatial Labs, an impact-driven technology incubator backed by venture capital firm Marcy Ventures, founded by JayZ. Since the launch of LNQ Marketplace in May this year with the Gen One Hardwear collection, the decentralized retail ecosystem is redefining the buying, owning and selling experience of fashion via the first blockchain-enabled fashion line.

Sandu, a design philosopher, is the creator of The Wearable Internet, changing the paradigm and reimagining the channel for products and fashion that interact between the digital and physical worlds. “While companies like Meta and Oculus are designing headsets to put you in a virtual world. We [Spatial Labs] says, ‘how can we take the power of the blockchain to enhance the physical products you have in the real world, but still allow you to convert it into the virtual world?'” explains Sandu.

Selling out within days, the LNQ and Gen One Hardwear collection captured the attention of celebrity fashionistas, streetwear enthusiasts and tech consumers. Every item on the LNQ Marketplace uses an embedded code with LNQ’s pioneering blockchain-enabled LNQ One Microchip. The embedded microchip then provides each buyer and seller with authentication and complete transparency about product life cycles.

Based in Los Angeles, California, digital architect Sandu was born in Accra, Ghana and raised in Compton, California. Sandu reminisces, “I grew up in Compton, from Ghana. My mother raised me as a single parent with nothing. I had a library that I went to for two years to learn programming. I took that information and combined it with my understanding of hip-hop, fashion, and culture, and it gave me an insane amount of ability to think differently than anyone else in technology. I want to pass that gift, privilege, and responsibility on to the next generation.”

His interest in technology would initially catch the attention of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle. The two minds would join forces to create the first smart retail experience, which laid the groundwork for Spatial Labs or sLabs, which JayZ has attached as a prominent investor in the company.

Sandu explains: “People ask ‘why fashion?’ I grew up with hip-hop – the freshest tech person in the room. Some of my friends have changed their fashion room, like Jerry Lorenzo. He created Essentials. And with Essentials, it’s impossible not to look cool. I think I’ve always been a fashion-forward person. My goal is not to be the creative director of Louis Vuitton or Balenciaga, my goal is to build infrastructure that can drive fashion, to build the next Apple for this generation.”

“I’m 25 – considered Gen Z. Most of the technology that was created was created by people older than me, for me to consume but never contribute to. [They] is from the previous generation, and my generation has not contributed to producing technology as much as we use technology.”

LNQ Marketplace redefines how we can buy, own and sell in the physical and digital world. There are also the engaging features of the platform, with a one size fits all model. LNQ offers specially developed Pantone colors for consumers to get the exact colors they like, while LNQ acts as a gateway to the Metaverse when scanned with an iPhone. A first of its kind in the industry, each scanned item allows users to participate in real and virtual events, with accessible social media profiles, Discords and Spotify playlists, for example.

Following on from LNQ’s Gen One Hardwear apparel launch in May at the first Spatial Labs Keynote event, the hero elements of the new LNQ Marketplace collection include the double-lined Gen One sweater designed in collaboration with color authority Pantone and available in six custom colors, Cloud Gen One Clog and an exclusive 1-of-1 smart t-shirt.

“LNQ is built on the idea of ​​creating real tools and creating products that provide a fully immersive experience,” says sLabs founder, Iddris Sandu. “We were thrilled with the consumer response to our first Gen One Hardwear drop, and with the launch of the LNQ Marketplace, we’re excited to provide our community with a decentralized space to further connect and bridge the physical and digital worlds.”

Industries have been developing ideas around new ways to purchase goods, whether it’s fashion for yourself or your home, using 3D design and artificial intelligence, finding ways in Web3 to engage a growing consumer base. Items purchased can be used in the real world, but are embedded with blockchain-enabled technology, as the LNQ One Microchip enables consumers to do.

Sandu notes, “a universal law that I like to apply to everything is a game of iteration and efficiency. Education needs to be broken down for a new generation. The tools provided are far too slow. We have the ability to Google something and no longer have to sit in libraries and go through 40 pages to find some information. But the education system has not embraced that.”

Like companies such as W3AR, which is a new web3-native platform for premium physical and digital apparel, LNQ Marketplace uses web3-native qualities to transport users to the Metaverse and access exclusive products to own. Blockchain support gives each item on the LNQ Marketplace an opportunity for ownership through purchase history in the digital and physical worlds.

Considerably an unprecedented level of utility, traceability and innovation, the future of e-commerce and the secondary marketplace will potentially open up web-3 and metaverse avenues for the average consumer. Sandu has an innate sense for finding solutions that simplify learning curves. He describes his fashion sense to his technical aesthetic, “essentialism – I feel – is my style. ‘isms’ can put you in a box, but I think essentialism is the most coherent form because it means that I want to live a life that is simplified.”

“You shouldn’t have to charge your clothes – that’s what I don’t like about the Apple Watch. I have to charge it every day. You never need to charge [LNQ Marketplace collection embedded chips]. It lasts a lifetime.”

LNQ Marketplace is available on desktop and mobile, making it accessible to technical users. Items like The Gen One Sweater ($499) are reversible and have hidden pockets, creating a versatile crew neck sweater. The Cloud Gen One Clog ($250), designed in collaboration with sustainable footwear and foot technology brand Ales Grey, is made in Italy. There’s also Orbs by Spatial Labs ($150), new smart T-shirts that give real access to sLabs events, all made from 100% recycled materials, made in the USA except for the clogs.

“With the technology we build, we shall contribute to the highest learning curve and adaptability of a new generation. The same thing that TikTok understood is that if you can consolidate and convince people to create introductions to topics in 15 seconds or less, you’ll save yourself 6 months in college for saying you don’t like “this” course. If you can minimize the time it takes to access quality information. You can program and deprogram a new generation to understand things differently.”

LNQ’s ecosystem of blockchain-enabled ‘Orbs by Spatial Labs’ t-shirts is an exclusive drop offering of 1-for-1 collectibles. Each ball corresponds to a garment with an identical, specially designed ball shown on the front. Scanning the Orb initiates an AR experience unique to their specific Orb, acting as the Gen One Hardwear drop. The purpose of decentralized fashion leans into the idea of ​​new luxury and serves as a receipt for the next generation of streetwear consumers. LNQ Marketplace houses important technology ahead of the curve and explores ways to educate and empower a new generation of consumers.