Web3 at Viva Technology, Part 1

Web3, NFTs and the metaverse were front and center at this year’s Viva Technology, the biggest startup and tech event in Europe. Business leaders, investors and employees from across LVMH descended on the Palais de Versailles, eager to learn about the increasing role digital is playing in Luxury. 

Across three stages, visitors went on a tour of Web3 with insight from Bernard Arnault, Ethereum co-founder (and perhaps the most famous man in cryptocurrency) Vitalik Buterin, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, VP of Apple Health Sumbal Desai, Henessy President Laurent Boillot, Bla Bla Car Founder Nicolas Brusson, LVMH Group Managing Director Antonio Belloni, Emmanuel Macron and many more. 

If you couldn’t go or need a reminder, you can watch the talks on replay via the Viva Technology Web App and we’ll be linking to specific talks during this series of 4 articles. 

For fans of Web3 the biggest trends at VivaTech were digital twins, cryptocurrency payments and value creation in the metaverse. In this first article we will introduce these ideas before exploring how Maisons can use them in more detail over the coming weeks.  

We will also touch on the LVMH Apartment – where Maisons showcased their Web3 projects – and the LVMH Innovation Awards, which recognised the most groundbreaking and interesting startups in luxury. So if you’re ready, let’s get started. 

Bulgari and digital twins

Digital twins are not an update of the 1998 Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy, but rather a digital copy of a physical product or a digital representation of a physical experience. To visualize digital twins in a luxury setting, imagine a Louis Vuitton bag with an identical (and unique) NFT the owner can wear in the metaverse, a one-off piece of digital art inspired by a Chanel dress or a Dior showroom where customers can explore the entire spring collection in stunning 3D from their computer.

It may sound like science fiction, but this is happening today at LVMH. With its patented Singularity Technology, Bulgari is experimenting with digital twins for its 10-carat Magnifica Ruby Metamorphosis necklace, Emerald Glory necklace and Octo Finissimo Ultra watch and no doubt has more projects up its jewel-lined sleeve. 

Intrigued to discover more about the Bulgari digital twins? Want to learn how Givenchy and Louis Vuitton are using NFTs and blockchain to add to the emotional experience of luxury? Massimo Paloni, Chief of Operations and Innovation for Bulgari joined Nelly Mensah, Jeremy Muras, Gautier Pigasse and Christine Vendredi-Auzanneau for a VivaTech panel to explain more. You can watch the replay here. The conversation turns to digital twins at 3.30.   

Tag Heuer and Crypto Payments

Accepting cryptocurrency payments is a big step for a Maison to take. However, some have already taken the plunge. In May, Tag Heuer announced they would start accepting cryptocurrency payments on their US website using BitPay for transactions of up to $10,000. 

With Stripe and Paypal offering crypto payment solutions to vendors, Visa and Mastercard both exploring blockchain infrastructure and almost every bank experimenting with one form of cryptocurrency or another, it is increasingly a question of when, not if, more Maisons follow Tag Heuer and start accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  

Value creation in the metaverse

In their opening keynote on day one of VivaTech, global consultancy firm Mckinsey predicted the metaverse will be worth $5 trillion by 2030. Yes, $5 trillion. Wow! That’s what we thought too. 

Valued so highly, is the metaverse too big for Maisons to ignore? Should leaders already be planning their strategies for how to best utilize the technology, both for the short and long-term? Nelly Mensah, Head of Crypto and Metaverse at LVMH, sure thinks so. 

“Now the maturation of the metaverse is happening, we are looking at new economic pathways. In LVMH everything comes back to the physical, but how cool would it be to offer a digital asset? To (give customers the means to) engage, promote and tell the world they love luxury brands? The metaverse is an additional touchpoint with many opportunities to enhance moments of the customer journey.”

Web3 Initiatives at the LVMH Apartment

Further proof of the importance these topics have in the luxury space was witnessed by those who visited the LVMH Apartment. Web3 initiatives from 16 Maisons were on display, including the Octo Finissimo Ultra by Bulgari and Morpho Beauty from Make Up For Ever – “a tool that analyzes facial characteristics, such as shape, lines, skin tone and texture and recommends products that would most effectively highlight its beauty,” as well as projects from Château Galoupet, Ruinart and Guerlain.

Web3 Startups and the LVMH Innovation Award

Excitement was further ramped up with the return of the LVMH Innovation Award to VivaTech. 950 startups from 75 countries applied to win awards for innovation in categories as diverse as employee experience, media awareness, omnichannel experience and sustainability. Of interest for fans of Web3 was the award for 3D and virtual product experience and metaverse which this year was won by San Francisco-based Bitski. Bitski gives brands the tools to create, sell and embed NFTs on websites, metaverse apps and games.  

More to come on the Web3 developments from VivaTech 

VivaTech was an ambitious and thought-provoking experience that raised as many questions as it answered, but the biggest take-home was abundantly clear: the future of Luxury and Maisons is intertwined with the digital experience. 

In this article we have introduced the big trends of VivaTech and opened the door for a deep dive over the coming weeks. We will produce three articles, each with more insight, examples and explanations for you to think about and incorporate into your Maison’s roadmap. 

1. Digital twins
2. NFTs for loyalty programs
3. Crypto payments

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know below. We are all learning about this new world together. We will point you in the right direction if we can’t answer (we don’t know everything). For those who can’t wait for the next article, read more on Web3 and the Aura, the luxury blockchain, here. 

Otherwise, we’ll see you next time for an exploration of digital twins.