Taco Bell. Coca-Cola. Mattel’s Hot Wheels. These are just a few of the businesses that are hopping onto the NFT bandwagon.
Non-fungible tokens, otherwise known as NFTs, have gained popularity over the past few years due to their significant role in buying, selling, and digital trading items (i.e., assets) that hold value. With so much talk surrounding the notion of NFTs as a new class of digital assets, we must ask ourselves: what kind of role will NFTs play in our lives regarding our day-to-day purchases and shopping?
What are NFTs?
Since their introduction to consumer markets, NFTs have been the talk of the town. While they have existed since 2014, they soared in popularity in 2021 when NFT trading hit $10.7 billion by the third quarter of that year.
Art, memes, newspaper articles, a sneaker in a clothing line, or even a tweet can all be considered an NFT, which is stored on a blockchain — the database on which cryptocurrency relies. Unlike cryptocurrency, each NFT is inherently unique and serves as a kind of receipt (or token) representing the purchase of a digital asset.
The retail world is taking notice of NFTs and what they can bring to the industry. Brands like Adidas and BoohooMAN created their own NFT collections, hoping to cash in on their popularity. High fashion brands like Dolce & Gabbana are also dipping their toe in the pool.
According to a survey from Morning Report, 15% of male respondents said they collected NFTs, compared to only 4% of female respondents. Because high fashion brands traditionally have a more extensive female consumer base, NFTs can be a way of increasing sales from male consumers. If your brand already markets predominantly to men, NFTs are an intelligent way of raising revenue.
The handwriting is on the wall. NFTs are increasing in popularity, and savvy business owners are ready to take advantage of the lucrative opportunity to enter the digital asset market.
Aria Noir is one fashion brand that is excited to announce its use of NFTs to authenticate purchases and their minting of NFTs as digital complements to their product collections.
Fashion Brand Aria Noir and NFTs
Aria Noir patterns itself after perfection, aligning its enterprise with the equilibrium of both pretty and practical things, focusing on doing more with less, and emphasizing quality over quantity. Aria Noir is where sacred geometry speaks.
As with many other brands adopting NFTs into their business model, Aria Noir knows that brands need to take risks when setting themselves up for success. “Success demands sacrifice. Don’t half-step, and be prepared to spend money,” says Jalal, the brand’s ambassador known as the rapper Feros. “If you think you will launch a successful fashion brand without putting something of yourself on the line, think again. Success and hard work go hand-in-hand in this industry, but you have to be able and willing to make those investments in your future success.”
Aria Noir’s goal is to pair its products with digital collectibles so that the customer can have something that is material — the products — and immaterial; the NFT.
When Aria Noir presents its new collection each season, they plan to offer an equal amount of NFTs for each item to give it a unique identity for every customer. It is a way of certifying the authenticity of the product and offering a collectible that can appreciate in value, which will be redeemable within the Aria Noir brand.
Embracing Creativity and Innovation
As a musician, Jalal sees beauty all around him and feels no need to limit his vision to the world of music. He is reaching out and fusing his love of rap with apparel design, culminating in the new clothing line Aria Noir.
Focused only on the creative process, Jalal likens his work to childbirth. “My favorite part of the creative process is the final product. It’s like giving birth to something that didn’t exist before, and now it does because of me. It’s even better when someone else acknowledges its beauty.”
Born in Damascus, Syria, Jalal immigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1996. “The whole struggle of leaving everything behind us, such as family and friends,” he explained, “coming to a new country, a new world, changed me completely and made me who I am today.”
Jalal incorporates these struggles, from learning a new language, customs, and ways of living, into his story. “I would consider myself someone who’s lived through a movie full of action, ups, and downs, and I try to put these life experiences into words to tell my story.”
Stepping Into the Future
As we enter an age where art is currency, it’s a natural extension that wearable art, like Aria Noir, leads the way in this NFT trend and takes the first step into the greater context of this evolution from material to immaterial, which has to do with the metaverse.
Aria Noir leads the way into the frontier digital space, increasing its footprint and establishing itself in this new culture. The goal is to have real estate and assets in the metaverse, providing this to people who purchase their fashion items.
“I’m passionate about all things beautiful,” Jalal adds. “I want Aria Noir to be not just apparel, but art — the intersection of different dimensions of creation.”
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