Diesel, the innovative fashion brand founded in 1978, is partnering with Fossil Group for a new line of physical watches, an immersive virtual reality gaming experience, and NFT player avatars.
The move is part of Diesel’s ‘Metamorph‘ project, which was announced in September of this year. To kick things off, Diesel and the Fossil Group are launching ‘Vert,‘ a phygital timepiece collection and experience, on November 2nd.
On the physical end, the watches have a hard-shelled, futuristic appearance that come in five styles. They include gold tone ($375), black ($375), silver-tone ($350), as well as a limited run of 700 units available for $395, and an even more exclusive run of 300 units for $425. The limited set of 300 NFTs were developed by composer Sejan Jansen and Artificial Rome.
People who purchase all the styles are gifted an NFT and can interact in the Metamorph world, a virtual reality metaverse developed by artists from Artificial Rome where players can participate in challenges using NFT avatars. Fans who don’t own a Vert NFT can also participate with a base avatar.
Throughout the experience, the Vert NFTs will evolve through 3 stages of metamorphosis. They can also be further customized and used for enhanced gameplay. When users complete the final quest, the experience will culminate in a virtual reality concert from Lil’ Dre.
The immersive gaming experience in Metamorph will take place from November 2nd to November 17th. Vert will be released globally at vert.diesel.com beginning November 2nd, and select retail stores in New York, Barcelona, Las Vegas, Paris, and Tokyo will be showcasing the immersive experience and player avatars.
Phygital NFT Drops Are on the Rise
Diesel isn’t the only fashion and lifestyle brand we’ve seen this year mixing physical products with digital experiences. The term that’s become coined “phygital” has become increasingly popular with leading brands. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several stories about this new phenomenon. Here are the top three.
First, four months ago, the luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton revealed its VIA Treasure Trunk NFTs. The limited-edition NFTs were priced at $42,000 a piece, and grant holders access to IRL and digital experiences, exclusive physical products, and LV’s Web3 community.
Next, five months ago, the French auto manufacturer Renault launched a collection of 960 NFTs that come with a unique physical pair of shoes. The Racing Shoe5 are based on one of Renault’s most popular cars, the ‘R5 Turbo,‘ and contain a near-field communication chip in the shoe’s front tongue. Scanning the chip gives holders access to unique experiences and digital rewards.
Finally, in November 2022, ASICS partnered with move-to-earn app STEPN to launch a Solana-inspired sneaker. The ‘GT-2000 11‘ physical shoe came with access to token-gated experiences and a corresponding NFT sneaker.
One reason that selling physical products linked to digital ones has become popular is because it enables brands to directly connect with their customer base. Only time will tell if Diesel and the Fossil Group’s Metamorph project is successful. But if it is, we expect to see more phygital releases from these companies in the future.