What Richard Quinn’s NFT Drop teaches us about crypto fashion today

What happened: Richard Quinn, the British designer best known for his bold, evocative approach to silhouettes and prints, has released his first ever NFT collection as part of his eponymous line. In partnership with Clearpay and The British Fashion Council, the ‘London Fashion Week in Bloom’ token series went on sale last Saturday via a dedicated website. The collection took inspiration from the group’s SS23 show (presented during LFW in September) and includes a special, limited edition rose NFT – a digital rendition of the giant flowers that featured on the physical runway last month.

But, as with many recent token drops, there’s more than meets the eye. Following the purchase, purchasers of the Richard Quinn NFT were also offered the opportunity to choose between two options: attend the brand’s exclusive VIP event in London’s Covent Garden later this week, or receive a collection of accessories in the iconic Richard Quinn floral print created exclusively with Clearpay, including items such as a bucket hat, a scrunchie and a bag.

All proceeds from NFT sales are also set to be donated to the BFC Foundation, a fundraiser that supports the future growth and success of the UK fashion industry by focusing on education, grants and business mentoring.

The Jing Take: From the likes of Gucci’s double G symbol to Burberry’s latest interlocking monogram, luxury houses around the world have chosen to incorporate their signature styles and emblems into their virtual strategies. This represents a bid to not only be as recognizable as possible, but also to develop a distinct identity among their growing number of competitors in the area. Quinn is equally keen to make his globally recognized mark on the digital landscape. The creative has become synonymous with loud floral motifs over the course of his career, and now his latest venture shows ambitions to bring this dynamic floral power to Web3.

But what’s really interesting to see is how names in fashion return to NFT initiatives. Earlier this year, the hype around crypto art went through a significant cooling off period. An increased ambiguity and skepticism about the value of tokens caused digital assets to decline in popularity and demand. The sector witnessed an 88% drop in the number of addresses trading on NFT marketplaces in a given week back in June, according to blockchain analysis platform Chainalysisas well as the average price of a sale falling from $3,894 (approx RMB 27,846) to $293 (approx RMB 2095) over the summer.

The ‘Richard Quinn x Clearpay: London Fashion Week In Bloom’ NFT collection features a limited edition rose, inspired by those seen at the brand’s SS23 LFW show. Photo: Richard Quinn.

The collapse pushed brands to rethink how they can use non-fungible substances and rethink the way they can add value to their customers. In most cases, including Quinn’s, this has materialized through the offering of exclusive benefits and token-gated access to special events, to generate hype and re-engage potential audiences. But with little or no social media coverage of the gathering across Europe or China, it’s uncertain how successful Quinn’s drop has been or will be, even with such additions.

For businesses that want to run their virtual campaigns successfully, it’s about finding the sweet spot between a good idea and an innovative one, appealing to customer demand, and also knowing how to effectively market products across a variety of channels. But with more iconic brands establishing themselves in the online space than ever – plus a potential NFT renaissance – Web3 fashion looks set to have a rosy future ahead of it.

The Jing Take reports on some of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to the heated debate that is sprouting on Chinese social media.