For luxury fashion brands enthusiasts, many of which are primarily male and young, the prospect of having NFTs presents many questions. Are NFTs going to be dilutive or beneficial?

While the luxury fashion world has been relatively quiet during the NFT frenzy, things are about to change. Many fashion brands are getting ready to jump into the NFT game with blockchain's wild and unpredictable nature.

Gucci says it's only a matter of time before the luxury fashion house launches an NFT. According to Vogue Business, several high-end fashion companies are close to creating their own NFTs. The question is, who will be the first to get into the game first.

In the NFT world, Marjorie Hernandez, founder of Lukso, claims that people are asking about what they can do with their digital assets. Supporters believe that NFTs are the latest evolution of digital fashion, and they can bring real fashion closer to reality.

Fashion brands race to join the NFT craze

SITRI is a @vogue_italia published fine art photography piece, minted as a green NFT through @rarible, my flagship home for Green NFTs.https://t.co/ca1Axes3Eh

2000 $xtz for this 1 of 1. pic.twitter.com/Fvej8uqbYI

— GDR Fine Art NFTs (@gdrtweets) December 28, 2021

Although NFT use cases are still in their infancy, fashion brands already see NFTs as art. "Right now, fashion being sold via NFT is fashion as art, and not necessarily fashion as a utility," said Cathy Hackl, CEO of Futures Intelligence Group. "We're eventually going to get to the point where there's more utility, but we're not there yet." Hackl continued.

Of course, NFTs do not offer the same polish as traditional fashion goods. Therefore it is also a given that the experience when using NFTs is also not as polished as it should be for luxury buyers. 

Take the virtual game, Decentraland. The players dress up their avatars with virtual clothes that might be modeled after luxury goods, but as far as experience goes, that's it — for now.

A recent look at the marketplace for NFTs revealed an odd mix of Santa Claus gag costumes, sneakers, and hoodies. The game's pixelated design and the difficulty of setting up an Ethereum wallet are not ideal for high-end buyers.

However, as companies compete for the attention of high-end consumers, the NFT fashion experience will become more refined.

Sydney-based startup Neuno is working with several luxury fashion houses to create NFTs. According to Neuno CEO Natalie Johnson, their goal is to create a universal 3D wardrobe that works seamlessly across all devices. 

For instance, if a person purchases a dress from Neuno, they will be able to share a photo of themselves wearing it on social media. Instead of just allowing anyone to sell an NFT, Neuno works directly with the brands. Its goal is to provide a premium user experience.

NFTs make fashion as digital collectibles

While the big luxury brands are still taking their time to implement NFTs, many other fashion companies have already started selling their products on marketplaces such as OpenSea, Nifty Gateway and KnownOrigin.

An NFT is a digital replica of a real-life garment. For example, if a person purchases a dress from Clothia, they will receive the corresponding physical garment.

According to Clothia CEO Elena Silenok, many luxury brands think of NFTs as a new revenue source. For them, it could be similar to how mass-market retailers like Amazon have started offering cross-channel marketing.

Amber Jae Slooten, the co-founder of The Fabricant, says that the fun part of NFTs is that it allows designers to create digital versions of real-world looks that could never be replicated.

For its first annual 3D fashion competition, the Fabricant partnered with Adidas and Karlie Klose's non-profit organization, Kode With Klossy, to create an auction where the top 20 designs were auctioned as NFTs. The winning design was sold for 1.4 ETH.

According to Cathy Hackl, virtual fashion is just the beginning of its potential. She believes that every fashion brand will need a virtual strategy to survive in the future.