The state of Web3 luxury rests on advertising
In 2022, the NFT space witnessed the emergence of “phygital” commodities. Characterized as a fusion of physical and digital, phygital has given the concept of ownership a new context by artists and developers turning their physical creations into NFTs, and vice versa.
While phygital goods come in a variety of forms, from sculptures to toys to paintings, potentially one of the most popular use cases to emerge from this new market sector has been wearables. Although the term “phygital” itself has become something of a meme in Web3 due to its fairly basic existence as a portmanteau, it’s still hard to discount companies like RTFKT and 9dcc as anything less than innovative at this intersection of physical and digital.
Speaking on a panel at nft now x Mana Commons The Gateway, influential collector and 9dcc Creative Director Gmoney (who revealed his identity earlier this week) gave insight into why the concept of Web3 luxury is in its infancy and relies on creators like him to conquer unknown territory for it to be fully formed.
“What I’ve learned as a founder is that you don’t have to do a drop like everyone else is. You know, PFPs definitely worked some time last year, I don’t know if they work going forward,” Gmoney said. “For that reason, I’ve been building slowly and taking my time, because I think the technology will change.”
With 9dcc’s second release, titled ITERATION-02, the brand offered an exclusive chip t-shirt embodying a creative partnership with Art Blocks founder Snowfro. Yet, as innovative as it was, the release was only a single player in the phygital market, and may have only just reached the peak of the potential that exists at the physical x digital intersection. But for the sector to expand further, Gmoney noted that ordinary consumers must first understand this potential.
“One of the main reasons I’ve really wanted to connect the digital and the physical is because we live in a non-fungible world,” Gmoney said. “Even if we’re wearing the same black shirt, mine might get ripped or have a coffee stain or whatever. That means it’s probably worth less.”
Speaking about this concept of non-fungibility in today’s everyday life, Gmoney added that while 9dcc will continue to release products, the brand creates with the future and future consumers in mind. “When you talk to someone who is a teenager or younger, they get it. They understand digital ownership,” Gmoney said.
