In March 2024, Parisian high fashion house Maison Margiela announced its foray into the virtual world with the launch of a digital version of its iconic Tabi boots, limited to 15 in the most exclusive color and only 1,500 in the second color, these boots are not made for ordinary Bitmojis, but represent the keys to an exclusive club.
Yet no matter how skilled the artisans behind Maison Margiela’s physical goods are (which have been influential since the designer’s first runway show in 1990), most high-fashion brands turn to digital studios when redesigning products for the virtual realm, which is where The Fabricant comes into play.
The Fabricant, based in Amsterdam, is a team of technologists and designers who believe in the enduring value of digital fashion. Why do fashion companies trust bits and pixels over leather or silk? For Kerry Murphy, co-founder and CEO of The Fabricant, the question can be easily answered in three words: sustainability, scalability and profitability.
“The Fabricant firmly believes that digital technology is more valuable than physical technology itself,” Murphy recently told OpenSea.
Ultimately, he said, fashion is all about self-expression, and fast fashion — an industry that can’t seem to stop wastewater, leaking pollutants and dumping microplastics into rivers at every step of the manufacturing process — ruins the fun of it all, and Murphy doesn’t see why we can’t retain the novelty and freedom of expression that fast fashion gives us, but keep it digitally rendered sustainable.
“If a brand sells a million digital products, we only have to produce one because it’s just a digital copy/paste.” He explains that Fabricant envisions a 500-year future where people wear minimal physical clothing for warmth and functionality, but adopt digital clothing and accessories in online spaces to express their identity and personality.
However, Murphy said that for fashion brands, the business model still requires selling physical clothing and no one thinks that will change any time soon. That said, consumer behavior does change from generation to generation, and today, younger consumers are moving online.
The “scalable” part of Murphy’s thesis goes like this: digital fashion can offer a new and exciting customer acquisition channel, bringing first-time buyers into the luxury and designer ecosystem while activating their critical thinking skills around consumption, sustainability and style, an idea that, he says, is welcome and leads ideally into the third part of Murphy’s position, “profitability.”
“Fashion brands came to their own conclusions,” he said. “They said, hey, actually we should be doing more digital.” When they did, the manufacturers were there, and the collaboration became a cutting-edge exploration of the many ways digital products can unlock physical utility, such as benefits, events and exclusive VIP experiences.
“It’s about connecting with new audiences,” Murphy said.
On April 16, Maison Margiela will be the next high-end fashion brand to integrate its carefully crafted couture shoes into this emerging customer engagement channel, so let’s take a look at what the brand has in store.
What You Need to Know About the Upcoming Maison Margiela MetaTABI Casting
Maison Margiela’s MetaTABI collection will offer a unique token-gated product experience, with token holders in both The Sandbox and Ready Player Me receiving special benefits that could even include a limited edition pair of boots or a leather wallet.
Benefits of owning MetaTABI
According to a press release from The Fabricant, owning a MetaTABI can provide the following benefits:
First-level benefits:
MetaTABI NFT White: A rare digital fashion collectible, limited to 15 pieces;
Physical Limited Edition Handmade Split-Toe Boots: Made in limited edition, hand-applied with gold foil animation, respecting the brand’s craftsmanship, limited to only 15 pairs;
Mint Pass: Priority access to Maison Margiela’s upcoming Web3 projects, including exclusive programming, virtual experiences (gaming activations), and Web3 side projects (partnerships);
Web3 community events and activation invitations;
gaming wearables for Ready Player Me and The Sandbox;
MetaTABI as an experience of augmented reality sculpture.
Secondary benefits:
MetaTABI NFT Black: A digital fashion collectible limited to 1,500 pieces;
Physical custom black leather Maison Margiela wallet;
Mint Pass: Priority access to Maison Margiela’s upcoming Web3 projects, including exclusive programming, virtual experiences (gaming activations), and Web3 side projects (partnerships);
Web3 community events and activation invitations;
gaming wearables for Ready Player Me and The Sandbox;
MetaTABI as an experience of augmented reality sculpture.
Will there be a physical pair of boots?
Tier 1 holders will enjoy the privilege of owning a pair of limited edition, handcrafted physical Tabi boots, while Tier 2 holders will receive a custom leather wallet, and owning the MetaTABI NFT will also give them access to Tabi wearables in The Sandbox and Ready Player Me experiences.
The digital TABI wearable will be available starting June 10, and similarly, the claiming period for the physical product for Tier 1 and Tier 2 holders will begin on June 10 and run until July 10, 2024, during which holders will need to provide size details and a delivery address, with all shipping costs to be borne by the brand.
When and where to cast
Mark your calendars, the MetaTABI collection will debut on The Fabricant website (sign up for reminders here):
thefabricant.beehiiv.com/subscribe
The pre-sale process was made possible thanks to a special multi-token Minter smart contract developed by the Aura Blockchain Consortium, with exclusive early access given to individuals who acquired tokens through Maison Margiela’s Web3 digital game, Maison Margiela VIC, as well as members of The Fabricant community and those who subscribed in advance to the pre-sale newsletter and Discord channel.
A 14-hour presale will begin on April 16th at 18:00 CET (12pm ET or 9am PT) for eligible community members.
The public sale begins on April 17th at 8:00 CET (11pm PT or 2am ET on April 18th) and will last for 72 hours or until supplies run out.
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