Metagrail is auctioning physical sneakers, designed by an artificial intelligence, that the owner will also be able to use inside different virtual worlds. The auction ends on November 29th. The owner will get unique physical sneakers, a The Sandbox avatar and a Snapchat filter.
The team has named the shoe series ‘The X Evolutions’. The RTFKT team created the shoes and an AI is adding the design. This artificial intelligence keeps painting as long as bids keep coming in. The design team will also make a Snapchat filter that probably adds a virtual animation to the shoe. In addition there will be an exclusive avatar for The Sandbox.
On the auction page the team also said that there will be ‘more simulations in the future’. Whether buyers will get multiple non-fungible tokens for different virtual worlds, or one digital assets that’s usable across different worlds… remains unknown. It seems likely that we will see a virtual version of this sneaker in online worlds like Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and/or Somnium Space.
Physical or virtual fashion
The lines between physical and virtual fashion are slowly becoming more vague. Nowadays people buy clothes online without going to a store. At the same time the online presence of an individual is becoming more important. Therefore it’s safe to assume that online representation will also become more important. That’s an opportunity for fashion brands to sell digital versions of their clothing using blockchain technology, providing value through rarity, ownership and authenticity.
This week we’ve seen Bandai Namco investing three million dollars in a company that makes digital avatars. Not that long ago we wrote about Gucci looking at digital platforms for their fashion items. The representation of an individual in a virtual world is becoming important, as the virtual world is becoming a stage where image and reputation matter. No wonder Somnium Space is minting avatars on the blockchain, and Cryptovoxels reactivated their wearables program.
No matter whether you’re talking about physical or virtual sneakers, both will be important to some extend. These digital representations are an extensions of the self, and users will want to treat them that way.
