Paco Rabanne is using NFTs to buy back its archive
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Fashion house Paco Rabanne is selling the future to buy back its past. The company is launching NFTs in collaboration with Selfridges on 12 April and plans to use the profits to finance additions to the house’s archive.
The NFTs will feature in a specially designed Selfridges.com experience, following on from the virtual Paco Rabanne x Selfridges store in Decentraland during Metaverse Fashion Week. Paco Rabanne is owned by Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig, whose brand portfolio also includes Jean Paul Gaultier.
Prices for the 56 NFT dresses will start at £600, centred on 12 conceptual, opulent show pieces from early Paco Rabanne, including a spiky gold bustier gown, classic see-through chainmail and a barely-there lamé cape dress. It’s a nice nod to the “12 unwearable dresses in contemporary materials” from the designer’s celebrated first show in 1966, the brand says. It brings hard-to-wear pieces into the virtual world — where it’s easier to wear them. All profits from the NFTs will fund Paco Rabanne’s archive, including buying back archival garments, sketches, image rights, video and radio recordings of the designer himself and improving preservation and storage.
Luxury NFT launches have been frequent in recent weeks, particularly during Metaverse Fashion Week, when Tommy Hilfiger, Etro and Rebecca Minkoff sold NFTs to appeal to young, Web3 savvy consumers. Use-cases and end goals have varied, with some brands seeing NFTs as loyalty and marketing plays. Paco Rabanne sees NFTs as a fundraising opportunity to reinvest in the brand’s future.
