2023 has been the year of the sports and fashion gold rush. From Formula One becoming an unlikely frontrunner in the luxury fashion race to Thom Browne suiting and booting the NBA, the sport industry’s style evolution has been exciting to watch unfold.
This week, Tiffany & Co. joined the playing field at the US Open Tennis championships by launching augmented reality (AR) powered mirrors. Alongside the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, JD Sports, and Coach, these interactive installations have become a key marketing vehicle for engaging new audiences and bringing the fun back into fashion.
In other news, while everyone has come to know the infamous Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project, its female-identifying audience has been notoriously overlooked. The Ladies of BAYC community is set to change that, by putting its own spin on the ape-shaped iconography in partnership with luxury jeweler and Web3 explorer Kaveras.
Ladies of BAYC teamed up with Kaveras to champion female NFT investors. Photo: Ladies of BAYC. Photo: Kaveras
Ladies of BAYC community joins hands with trailblazing luxury jeweler Kaveras to launch debut phygital jewelry collection
What Happened: The Ladies of BAYC has teamed up with boundary-breaking fine jewelers Kaveras and female-founded Web3 infrastructure facilitator Solaire to celebrate women in Web3. The bespoke phygital jewelry line merges blockchain technology with craftsmanship in the form of two pendant necklaces, each arriving with their own corresponding NFT as a certificate of authenticity, as well as an NFC chip that will unlock further utilities over time.
Dropping on September 7, the project will also donate a portion of the proceeds to Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit organization that aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science.
The Verdict: This is the first partnership to arrive from the Ladies of BAYC’s “Not A +1” project, which aims to spotlight and support women investors who are often overlooked in the male-centric NFT community.
Celebrating the female counterpart of the male-dominated BAYC project, the collection speaks volumes about the importance of championing marginalized communities in Web3 and amplifying their voices to foster an accessible ecosystem.
Tiffany & Co. is bolstering the sporting event experience for onlookers by inviting them to participate in AR-powered activations. Photo: Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. creates AR experience for US Tennis Open championships
What Happened: At this year’s US Open championships, onlookers will be able to immerse themselves in the sporting universe thanks to Tiffany & Co.’s latest activation.
Using augmented reality and Snapchat’s proprietary Ares technology, the jeweler created a diamond-encrusted racquet and digital trophies for audiences to interact with, alongside AR-powered mirrors — a trend that has risen in popularity over the past year.
The Verdict: As an early proponent of AR-powered activations and Snap’s Lens feature, Tiffany & Co. is taking its experiential offerings to new frontiers. The brand seems to have cracked the formula of utilizing virtual technologies as marketing vehicles while maintaining its air of luxe exclusivity.
This was evidenced by its CryptoPunks pendant drop last year, as well as the house’s commitment to leveraging AR as a key driver in its innovation roadmap. The activation also points to how large-scale sporting events, like the US Tennis Open, are deploying buzzy technologies to attract a younger audience base.
Gentle Monster is bridging the physical world with the gaming universe for its latest product launch. Photo: Gentle Monster
Gentle Monster drops phygital collection alongside gaming franchise Overwatch
What Happened: Gentle Monster wants in on the gaming market. The South Korean eyewear label has teamed up with gaming franchise Overwatch to drop a selection of character skins for its latest release, Overwatch 2: Invasion.
In addition to in-game skins, the collaboration brings one of the franchise’s main characters, D.Va, to life through a pair of physical sunglasses that resemble her signature headgear.
The Verdict: Following its viral Pierced 02 glasses launch, Gentle Monster is having its moment in the niche luxury spotlight, making it a powerful collaborator to tap while all eyes are on the brand.
As for the gaming sphere, popular platforms are catching on to the fact that their players want more style options from luxury brands. For example, Fortnite’s recent release of a physical P-Wing boot with Ralph Lauren put players, quite literally, into the shoes of their favorite character, allowing them to forge deeper connections with their online identities.
