Wearable NFTs are taking the runway: Leon Bridges In Partnership With Wrangler

In 2022, NFTs are bound to be the hottest trend on the runway. Just a buzzword two years ago, today's NFTs give consumers the  ability to not only wear fashion, but interact with fashion. Physical and digital interaction with communities, exclusive content  and ‘experiences,’ the phygital trend is becoming larger than clothing outlets, evolving into more all-encompassing culture brands. This year, NFTs will not only become a tremendous player, but will most definitely increase the value of consumer purchasing power.

Wearable NFTs are taking the runway: Grammy winner Leon Bridges and iconic denim brand Wrangler have partnered with LTD.inc to create a phygital experience: NFTs of a Bridges-inspired denim suit that pair with exclusive BTS content, a VIP ticket to a fall NYFW event where Bridges will perform live, and one NFT that is embedded into an exact replica of the denim suit, scanning the NFT tag with an app provides more content and exclusive experiences. 

Silvia Kabaivanova talked to Daryl Kelly, CEO of LTD.inc about the partnership.

Can you give more details about your new project?

The “Mr. Wrangler” NFT is a world's first drop that truly merges the physical, digital and virtual worlds and will be launched in two parts on the LTD.INC web3 platform. Starting with the first drop, 75 digitally animated NFTs of a signature dance move choreographed by Bridges, known as the “Icon” tier, will go on auction.  In addition to owning the art, each "Icon" NFT gives collectors access to digital communities, virtual metaverse wearable skins and VIP passes to a private event at NYFW in September 2022 where Leon Bridges will be performing live.

For the non-crypto audience, how do NFTs work?

NFTs are designed to give you something that can’t be copied: ownership of the digital work. To put it in terms of physical art collecting: anyone can buy a Monet print. But only one person can own the original.

Can you explain to our readers, how can the Digitally Animated Icon NFT that you offer be used?

Aside from being a beautifully crafted piece of digital artwork by a world renowned animation studio, the Icon NFT offers the following utility to its 75 collectors:

- 1 VIP pass to a by-invitation-only, private performance by Leon Bridges at New York Fashion Week in September 2022

- 1 Icon Decentraland metaverse wearable

- IRL access to the unveiling of the Mr. Wrangler Legendary NFT

- Whitelist access to future Wrangler and LTD.INC NFT drops

- 1 Wrangler denim jacket autographed by Leon Bridges

You also offer an Icon Decentraland metaverse wearable, how can a user maximize the benefit of owning it?

The Icon Decentraland metaverse wearable will be airdropped as a separate NFT to the original owners of the 75 Icon NFTs. The collectors can either choose to wear these exclusive wearables in Decentraland themselves, to gain the clout that comes with owning such a rare item, or sell their wearable on the opensea platform to other interested collectors.

How is your NFT different from other fashion NFTs we’ve seen?

Firstly and most importantly no other fashion NFT is offering a Physical + Digital tier (Legendary) that is connected to the blockchain through our proprietary scanning technology. Also no other fashion NFT has partnered with such an iconic artist (Leon Bridges) to offer the utility of a VIP pass to a by-invitation-only, private performance. The above, coupled with some exciting long term utilities which will be revealed in the near future, make this a very unique fashion NFT compared to anything that’s been launched to date.

What about the environmental impact?

The potential environmental impact is something we are aware of and take very seriously, so LTD.INC has partnered with Offsetra, an organisation dedicated to helping NFT platforms offset their carbon emissions via verified, high-quality projects that meet strict international verification standards.

For the Mr. Wrangler NFT project, LTD.INC volunteered to double the recommended carbon offset target of 19 Tonnes of CO2, to 38 Tonnes by supporting the internationally recognized project below:

Pacajai REDD+ Project: Support forest conservation and community development programs in Para, Brazil

The main objective of the Pacajai project is to prevent and avoid unplanned deforestation in native forests, avoiding the net emission of 264.116tCO2e. The project is both VCS and Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) certified.

What is the future of NFTs?

We believe that our approach of merging the physical, digital and virtual worlds is the future of NFTs and we’re truly excited to be at the forefront leading this holistic revolution of the space.