TOP10 NEWS OF THE WEEK / 05.25.24
DOLCE & GABBANA IS SUED TOGETHER WITH UNXD NFT PLATFORM
?? Customer claims the NFTs he spent $6,000 on lost 97% of value
?? Class-action lawsuit blames company for delayed delivery
DOLCE&GABBANA USA Inc.?was sued by a customer who says the NFTs he spent $6,000 on that came with outfits to wear in the metaverse lost 97% of their value because the Italian luxury fashion house bungled their delivery.
The company sold Non-Fungible Tokens that were promoted as “a slate of digital, physical and experiential benefits” and could be bought and sold on the Ethereum cryptocurrency blockchain, according to the complaint. Dolce & Gabbana allegedly told consumers that buying the DGFamily NFTs would grant them access to various digital rewards, physical products and exclusive events. But the delivery of the NFTs was late, along with special benefits customers were promised, according to the complaint filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Digital outfits that showed up 20 days behind schedule “could be used only in a metaverse platform with barely any users,” according to the complaint.
Even after the digital outfits were released, token holders still couldn’t actually use them for another 11 days because Dolce & Gabbana hadn’t gotten approval from the metaverse platform ahead of time, according to the complaint.“ Their standard operating procedure has been to promise products they fail to deliver, before abandoning a project and community they promised to support,” attorneys wrote in the complaint. Luke Brown, who filed the suit, says he lost $5,800 on the NFTs he bought. Brown brought the case on behalf of a proposed class of people who bought digital assets from the NFT project. The complaint also names the NFT marketplace UNXD as a defendant.
DOLCE&GABBANA and UNXD didn’t immediately respond outside regular business hours to requests for comment.
The case is Brown v. Dolce & Gabbana USA Inc., 24-cv-03807, US District Court, Southern District of New York.
FASHION SYSTEM
ALIBABA IS SUPERCHARGING LVMH WITH ITS AI AND CLOUD TECH
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has announced an 8% increase in annual revenue and has started integrating its generative AI capabilities, including Qwen, Alibaba’s proprietary large language model, and Model Studio (Bailian), a comprehensive AI model-building platform, with the world's largest luxury group, LVMH .
The Hangzhou-based company is a major player in the tech industry, with operations spanning retail, digital payments, artificial intelligence, and entertainment. Alibaba reported a revenue of $130.4 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, compared to LVMH's $95.24 billion. As part of the agreement announced on Wednesday, LVMH will gain access to technology from Alibaba Cloud to enhance supply chain processes and customer insights, according to statements from both companies.
This announcement follows the recent debut of Tiffany’s and Chaumet on Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion, which offers features such as 3D product displays, virtual try-ons, and livestreaming.Eddie Wu, CEO of Alibaba Group, stated: “Alibaba is pleased to enable a transformation of the high-end consumption experience with retail leaders like LVMH through our world-class technologies in cloud computing and AI."LVMH has around 30 brands on Luxury Pavilion, the high-end site on Alibaba’s Tmall shopping platform, including jewelry houses Chaumet and Tiffany, which recently joined the platform. This highlights the luxury sector's growing embrace of digital channels.
“The reinforcement of our partnership will help us to further accelerate our omni-channel business growth,” said Stephane Bianchi, group managing director of LVMH, referring to various shopping avenues both in-store and online.
LUXURY STOCKS FELL AFTER HERMES, LVMH, AND KERING SHARES SLID
METAVERSE FASHION MAGAZINE European luxury stocks tumbled on Wednesday, with Hermès leading the decline. The company's stock price slid 3.6%, followed by Kering and LVMH at 2% and Richemont at 1.1% dips. This selloff dragged the EURO STOXX Luxury 10 Index down 1.9%, its steepest drop in a month.
This volatility reflects growing worries about the luxury sector. Consumer spending on high-end goods appears to be cooling, especially in China where the post-pandemic boom has stalled. Additionally, luxury stocks trade at a premium compared to the broader market, raising concerns about their valuations.The recent slump comes on the heels of a warning from CHANEL , which indicated a "more challenging environment" for the industry. Analysts anticipate rising pressure on profit margins for luxury brands.“After three years of exceptional growth for our industry, we are now entering a more challenging environment,” said Philippe Blondiaux , Chanel’s global chief financial officer.
According to CIC Market Solutions analyst David Da Maia , operating income at Chanel was eroded by more than 100 basis points because of a 20% increase in marketing spending.“The group refers to a less favorable market environment in 2024 and gives no indication — unlike in previous years — of its performance in recent months, suggesting that its growth has clearly slowed since the beginning of the year, in line with the sector as a whole,” Da Maia said in written comments.
VALUE PROPOSITION
LVMH IS BEATEN BY ETHEREUM IN MARKET CAP
Ethereum rocketed 22% higher on Tuesday on surging confidence that ETFs pegged to the cryptocurrency could be approved as soon as this week, pushing its market cap above $455 billion. Meanwhile, shares of the biggest company in fashion, 酩悦·轩尼诗-路易·威登集团 , are down 1.5% this week, with its market cap at $417 billion.
Similar to efforts made for Bitcoin in January, there have been ongoing initiatives to establish an Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), which would make the cryptocurrency accessible to a wider range of investors.Despite anticipated regulatory pushback, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently asked potential issuers to update their filings, Bloomberg reported. This is a positive sign ahead of decision deadlines for at least two spot ETFs, one from VanEck and the other from Ark 21Shares.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas , the odds of approval jumped from 25% to 75% in a single day on Monday. Additionally, the odds of approval by May 31 have risen to 61% from 10% on the Polymarket betting platform.
Ethereum surged over 18% after Balchunas noted that the SEC likely faced political pressure, as its previous position showed little engagement with ETF applicants.
SINGULARITY
INNOVATION IN INTERACTION: THE RACE SPEEDS UP
The Interline : As AI continues to dominate the conversation being had by the world’s biggest technology companies, more brands should be exploring its potential to elevate their own, as well as the customer’s, experiences to the fullest extent.
?? Google ’s latest advancements in AI were showcased at the annual Google I/O developer conference, particularly the next point updates to the Gemini AI models. The fashion industry can expect potential benefits including simplified image search, advanced chatbots/agents, condensing email threads, executing complex tasks like e-commerce returns, and more.
?? OpenAI also unveiled a new model, alongside a revised mobile app and new desktop application – with notable changes in the speed of voice and video interaction that could reframe the use of AI chatbots in retail and customer service contexts.
?? Sportswear brand Reebok is the latest to use AI to enhance customer experiences, enabling users to create personalised sneakers inspired by their own images. By leaning into using AI to allow their customers to have a more personal and creative experience, brands can strengthen customer connections and drive sales in today’s competitive retail landscape. As another week rolled by, it was – again – impossible to avoid AI in the news cycle. It’s just everywhere, inescapable; from Big Tech to the biggest brands, it seems that nobody is going to be finished talking about AI any time soon. AI was, unsurprisingly, a major theme of the annual?Google I/O developer conference?on the 14th of May, where the event focused heavily on Google’s Gemini AI models. Many of the updates will affect the fashion industry, from creative professionals to those in more administrative type jobs too. The first major one: Google’s new “Ask Photos” feature that will make searching for photos, or details contained in photos, that much easier. The Gemini AI model will?scan through your photos and pull up what you are looking for, based on your request. In a demonstration, CEO Sundar Pichai wanted to find his licence plate number, and Gemini promptly provided the number along with a corresponding image, allowing him to verify its accuracy. This will be potentially helpful for fashion designers or marketing professionals who work with hundreds of images and who might remember a particular detail but don’t have the time to sift through hundreds of images… provided of course that they’re comfortable allowing Google to archive and search those images.
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META'S RAY-BAN SMART GLASSES NOW LET YOU SHARE IMAGES DIRECTLY TO INSTAGRAM
TechCrunch Meta is updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with new hands-free functionality, the company?announced?on Wednesday. Most notably, users can now share an image from their smart glasses directly to their Instagram Story without needing to take out their phone.
After you take a photo with the smart glasses, you can say, “Hey Meta, share my last photo to Instagram.” Or you can say, “Hey Meta, post a photo to Instagram” to take a new photo in the moment.The launch of the new feature is reminiscent of the?Snap Spectacles, which debuted in 2016 and allowed users to capture photos and videos with their smart glasses to share them directly to their Snapchat Stories.Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are also getting hands-free integrations with Amazon Music and meditation app Calm.Users can now stream music from Amazon Music without having to take out their phone by saying “Hey Meta, play Amazon Music.” You can also control your audio playback with touch or voice controls while your phone stays in your pocket. To access the new hands-free Calm integration, users can say?“Hey Meta, play the Daily Calm” to have mindfulness exercises and self-care content accessible directly through their smart glasses.
In addition, Meta is expanding the number of styles available in 15 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia and parts Europe. The expansion includes the style Skyler in Shiny Chalky Gray with Gradient Cinnamon Pink Lenses; Skyler in Shiny Black with Transitions Cerulean Blue Lenses; and Headliner Low Bridge Fit in Shiny Black with Polar G15 Lenses. The glasses are available on both?Meta’s?and?Ray-Ban’s?websites.The launch of the new features comes a month after the smart glasses?got an AI upgrade. Meta rolled out multimodal AI to the smart glasses to enable users to ask questions about what they see. For instance, if you’re seeing a menu in French, the smart glasses could use their built-in camera and Meta AI to translate the text for you.The idea behind the launch is to allow the smart glasses to act as a personal AI assistant outside of your smartphone, in a way that’s similar to Humane’s?Ai pin.
领英推荐
METAPHYSICS
AURA BLOCKCHAIN CONSORTIUM SAYS IT HAS LOGGED MORE THAN 40 MILLION PRODUCTS
The Business of Fashion : The group’s digital product passports are now in use by brands such as Prada Group , Loro Piana , Maison Margiela and more. As of this month, the Aura Blockchain Consortium has created digital product passports containing information ranging from traceability credentials to storytelling around the product for more than 40 million items, the group said in a statement.Among the physical items imbued with its digital identities, typically accessed through NFC chips or QR codes, are pieces from Prada’s Eternal Gold fine jewellery collection, Loro Piana’s linen André shirts, Rimowa suitcases and more than 580,000 items across OTB Group’s brands, including Marni, Maison Margiela and Jil Sander, it said. Romain Carrere , who was?named the group’s new chief executive and general secretary?in September 2023, called it a “milestone” in the statement.Aura was founded in April 2021 by a rare alliance of luxury players including LVMH, Prada Group and Richemont-owned Cartier, with OTB Group joining as a founding member soon after, with the goal of using blockchain technology to improve the traceability and transparency of luxury products. The group today bills itself as “the world’s leading blockchain partner” for luxury, though other companies — both blockchain-focused and not, including Arianee and EON — are also busy creating DPPs for fashion items.
Brands had begun adopting DPPs as a way to offer shoppers more information on their products and for purposes like enhanced storytelling. But the urgency has recently increased with the EU proposing new regulations that would require fashion and other industries to give each item its own DPP as early as 2026 under a broader push for corporate sustainability and transparency.
BLACKPINK'S DIGITAL COLLECTIBLES DROP POINTS TO NEW ERA OF FAN ENGAGEMENT
Jing Daily : Blackpink enters the digital collectibles market, mmERCH unveils new IRL NFT experience, and FFFACE.ME teams up with Bershka on 'semi-digital' jeans.?? Inspired by their 2022 song “Pink Venom,” which initially received mixed reviews, the four-part girl group joins a growing number of K-pop dignitaries diving into the world of NFTs and virtual tokens.The tokens will be released from May 22 to 26 through VeVe, a New Zealand-based company that specializes in licensed digital collectibles.K-pop has been charting its own course when it comes to digital collectibles and NFTs, from Jay Chou’s “Phanta Bears”?NFT drop in 2021 to Aespa’s capsule token release with Sotheby’s in 2022, which offered holders an all-expenses-paid trip to Seoul to meet the group.Industry titans such as Hybe (the music agency behind K-pop mega group BTS) and SK Telecom have also been aggressively investing in the metaverse arena. The former launched an NFT-powered K-pop platform in 2022, while the latter unveiled plans to step up its metaverse expansion in Asia in April.“Artists, designers, and entertainers can interact with holders or fans closely in the metaverse via different devices and social platforms virtually. For instance, artists can meet their fans ‘directly’ in a live metaverse interview or a metaverse concert by using wearable equipment. This shortens the distance created by the stage in real life,” Ric Chiang, co-founder of Phantaci, told?Jing Daily?last year.While the trading of NFTs in the APAC region remains in a persistent state of limbo, Blackpink’s ascent to mainstream consciousness in the West, driven by luxury brand partnerships and growing global interest in K-pop, is likely to prevent the collection from flopping.
Meta Bites
?? Web3-powered fashion brand mmERCH has revealed its first token-linked experience alongside contemporary American artist Tom Sachs. On the heels of its sell-out debut collection last month, the startup is encouraging community members to attend Tom Sach’s “Bodega 245 Picasso” show in New York City and share photos of themselves wearing their Mmerch hoodies. Those who do so will be airdropped an exclusive Bodega 245 x Mmerch experience token.
?? Meanwhile, augmented reality aficionado Ffface.me has once again teamed up with high-street retailer Bershka to launch its “semi-digital” jeans. The jeans can be scanned via a QR code, enabling their wearer to switch up the texture of the physical garment to create unique content for their social media platforms.
IMKI LEVERAGES ON EXCELLENCE GENERATIVE AI SOLUTIONS FOR THE LUXURY AND FASHION INDUSTRIES
imki | Augmented creativity , as market leader in augmented creative AI solutions for luxury and fashion, is back this year at, Europe’s largest event dedicated to startups and high-tech. This year, imki is participating at the event for the third time presenting a special denim capsule collection created and powered by its generative AI technology in close collaboration with their Turkish industrial partners Kipas Textiles and Taypa , recognized leaders in denim manufacturing.
This outstanding collection illustrates imki’s constant quest for excellence in creating custom and accurate AIs. Unbelievably close to the world’s most efficient production tools, imki reveals its ability to improve the productivity and efficiency of design and manufacturing processes.Three silhouettes were imagined and produced in less than 21 days, pushing the artistic and technical boundaries from design to manufacturing.?? An AI Denim capsule collection created in less than 21 daysAfter creating the first AI-generated capsule in collaboration with The Kooples, demonstrating its ability to accelerate creative processes, imki has extended its partnerships with the world leaders in denim, and created a unique capsule collection powered by in-house AIs specially trained with selected and enhanced data.Building on the highest degree of fabrics quality provided by Kipas textiles’ and the Taypa’s excellence in manufacturing techniques.A creative and technical feat in equal measure, the capsule was created in less than 21 days, from the ideation phase to design, technical development and manufacturing.
The fruit of 100% in-house expertise. Consisting of 3 silhouettes of 6 pieces,?each element of this collection reflects imki’s craftsmanship, ingenuity and relentless quest for excellence and precision.
A strategy of partnerships with industries of excellenceThe growing enthusiasm of these industries for AI applications reinforces imki’s position as a french and international pioneer in this rapidly expanding domain.“imki offers specialized “business” AIs specifically trained by and for designers from French “grandes écoles”. They guarantee accuracy, precision, and efficiency. ” - Frédéric Rose , CEO of imki | Augmented creativity .
With a team of over 25 domain experts following the recent recruitment effort of new talents, including 2 stylists and 1 garment maker, specially trained in generative AI, imki | Augmented creativity aims at expanding its expertise offer based on customized, secure and confidential AI solutions supporting the brands quest for creativity and sustainability.
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FASHION'S PLAYBOOK FOR DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORTS
Vogue Business : Traceability platform TrusTrace has released new guidelines to help the industry comply with incoming legislation. Fashion and footwear brands need to prepare now if they are to have any hope of implementing digital product passports in time to comply with?looming legislation, according to traceability platform TrusTrace. To help the industry get there, it has pulled together learnings from a trial of digital product passports (DPPs) into a new playbook.“The introduction of digital product passports marks a fundamental shift in how the industry will need to work with product data and infrastructure — and are pivotal in the European Union getting the data insights needed to achieve net zero,” says TrusTrace co-founder and CEO Shameek Ghosh . “While the need for digital product passports is well understood, how to effectively prepare for them and implement them is not, and the lack of clarity can slow the industry and sustainable progress down, particularly if brands and retailers wait for the delegated acts to be finalised at the end of 2025 before they act,” says Ghosh.
The European Commission has ruled?that, by 2030, all products sold in the EU will need to have a DPP, which tracks and shares information about who made the product and where, the materials used, its environmental footprint and chemical compliance, how the product should be cared for and its circularity potential. The final data and IT system requirements are expected to be decided by late 2025, after which, implementation will begin.‘Unlocking DPP: The Why, What and How of Digital Product Passports’ is the third playbook TrusTrace has launched, following on from?the first, which outlined why traceability is needed, and?the second, which offered tools to map out methodologies and solutions for traceability. The latest playbook — launched today during the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen — is based on learnings from Trace4Value, an initiative participated in by TrusTrace that has been piloting the DPP system over the past two years on more than 3,000 products from two fashion brands: Kappahl and Marimekko.During the trial, TrusTrace found that the key limitations were a lack of supply chain traceability, a lack of access to live data in the supply chain, and the potential for the data shared with consumers via QR codes to be at odds with disclosure requirements in markets outside the EU.
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COMMONWEALTH
FANCYTECH WINS LVMH INNOVATION AWARD GRAND PRIZE
LVMH has announced the winners of the 8th edition of the LVMH Innovation Award, recognizing seven startups during a recent ceremony.?Bernard Arnault?presented the?Grand Prize?to FancyTech , a platform leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence to create videos from 3D product models and creative briefs.Following a pre-selection process, eighteen promising startups were chosen to exhibit at the LVMH pavilion, "The Dream Garden," at VivaTech.?? FancyTech received the Grand Prize of the LVMH Innovation Award.“In winning the Grand Prize at the LVMH Innovation, FancyTech joins the exclusive circle of LVMH Innovation Award top prizewinners.
This is an opportunity to collaborate with our Maisons and contribute to the transformation of the luxury sector. This Prize once again recognizes a startup that leverages technological advances to elevate excellence. I am confident that their expertise will match the ambition of our Maisons and anticipate the expectations of our customers,” said Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Group.FancyTech, which also won the Immersive Digital Experiences category, uses AI-generated video scripts (Python code) to control video movements and lighting effects in video production software, based on creative briefs provided by brands.
Combined with realistic 3D models, these high-quality videos feature movements impossible to achieve manually.
Morgan Mao , co-founder of FancyTech, expressed gratitude to the LVMH teams, stating, “I would like to take the opportunity to show my gratitude to LVMH teams. Thanks to our common passion for tech and innovation that bring us all together here. Connecting mind and machine, GenAI extends boundless imagination and creativity but can’t replace the heart and human. We feel honored to be part of this new adventure”
?? 2024 prize winners by category
?? Image & Media for Brand Desirability: Ircam amplify Amplifying the power of sound for brands and user experiences
?? Sustainability & Greentech: Aectual Circular 3D printed store and architectural finishes using recycled materials
?? Immersive Digital Experiences: FancyTech GenAI video production based on product 3D model and creative brief
?? Omnichannel & Retail: Glanceable AI-powered customer feedback analytics solution
?? Operations Excellence: Authena IoT solutions for real-time traceability and product authenticity protection
?? Employee Experience, Diversity & Inclusion: HERALBONY Art license for enterprise with unique narratives by artists with disabilities
?? Special Mention: DATA, AI and Gen AI Solutions: BLNG AI Sketch-to-design GenAI and virtual studio for jewelry
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Executive Director Marketing @ AL-Amin Export Ltd | Fine Arts
5 个月#Sweater #Jumper #Cardigan Manufacturer #From Bangladesh #More affordable Price #Made by 100% Cotton ,Combed Cotton & Organic Cotton #Merino & #Blended Wool Yarn?????????
Executive Director Marketing @ AL-Amin Export Ltd | Fine Arts
5 个月#Sweater #Jumper #Cardigan Manufacturer #From Bangladesh #More affordable Price #Made by 100% Cotton ,Combed Cotton & Organic Cotton #Merino & #Blended Wool Yarn?????????
Executive Director Marketing @ AL-Amin Export Ltd | Fine Arts
5 个月#Sweater #Jumper #Cardigan Manufacturer #From Bangladesh #More affordable Price #Made by 100% Cotton ,Combed Cotton & Organic Cotton #Merino & #Blended Wool Yarn?????????