Givenchy and Creative Director Matthew Williams are continuing their test-and-learn web3 experiment with their new collaboration with streetwear label Bstroy and digital art collective Felt Zine. Part physical, part NFT, the collection hits many of the themes Maisons have to consider with a web3 strategy, including craftsmanship, brand building and storytelling. Of particular interest is a new element – phygitals. We sat down with Xenia Dobonyi, Digital Experience Director at Givenchy, to learn more.
What is phygital?
You’ll be hearing more about phygitals in the coming years. But what is it? Xenia explains it best. “If I buy a pair of shoes and wear them to the office, go home and login to my favorite game, I want to wear them too. It’s a way to expand my identity from offline to online.”
Phygitals are a way for brands and individuals to expand their identity into the digital world, whilst simultaneously owning and enjoying a physical product. As metaverse platforms play a larger role in our collective experience, visitors to those worlds will want to wear the same fashion as in real life. Phygitals are a way for luxury brands to create fashion across the divide.
“There’s a whole future of merging the physical space with the digital,” says Matthew Williams, speaking on a Twitter Space with Bstroy and Felt Zine. “We’ll be exploring storytelling directly with the supporters of Givenchy in both the digital and physical space.”
Why did Givenchy Choose to collaborate with Bstroy and Felt Zine?
Matthew Williams has long been an admirer of Brick Owens and Dieter “Du” Grams, the Atlanta-based duo behind Bstroy. “I’m a fan of the pure energy Bstroy has,” he says, explaining the philosophy behind the collaboration. “Even with a shoestring budget, they do the most insane runways. They do shows all over the world in crazy spaces. With so much emotion.”
Givenchy wanted to leverage that emotion in Web3. To do so, they would need help. That meant going to Brooklyn and a meeting with Felt Zine and the digital counter-culture. “Because it’s the Givenchy philosophy to approach subcultures,” Xenia says. “We found a parallel in the Web3 world with Felt Zine.” Created by artist, creator and technologist Mark Sabb, the experimental internet collective describe themselves as ‘catalysts of the underground, purveyors of street culture, hip hop and diversity.’ For Xenia, Matthew and the team, they were the perfect collaborators to create the first Givenchy phygital.
NFTS as part of the bigger Bstroy Streetwear Collaboration
“The only way to make sure that you are not left behind is to experiment and bring everyone on this journey.” – Xenia Dobonyi
Rather than being a unique Web3 project, the NFT collection is part of a wider Bstroy collaboration. Besides the six phygitals – pictured above and chosen by Mark Williams – the collection includes between sixty and eighty pieces of physical streetwear. Pure fashion. No NFTs. They include hoodies, varsity jackets, distressed denim boots, trainers, sweaters and t-shirts.
Why are there only six NFTs? The answer lies in the vision for a longer, more immersive Givenchy experience. It’s a strategy that blends long term value for the Maison with the test-and-learn approach to Web3. It brings Givenchy craftsmanship into the digital space and remains true to the DNA of the brand. In other words, it’s a way to combine the timeless heritage of Givenchy with the yet-to-be-written culture of the future.
Back in the Twitter space, Matthew Williams alluded to what comes next. “We have a lot of other great aspirations in the space we want to roll out over the next couple of years.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t say more. Always the showman. Always the storyteller.
What did Givenchy, Felt Zine and Bstroy bring to the collaboration?
Working with Matthew Williams, Bstroy created the physical garments of the collection. A mixture of high end fashion and experimental streetwear made of unique materials, highly visual patches and vibrant colours. It’s an innovative urban take on classic fashion.
Felt Zine were responsible for creating the digital replicas (NFTs) of the items, and the unmistakable art of the backgrounds.
Not only did Felt Zine create the NFTs, they brought a new audience to Givenchy, one that is vocal, passionate, helpful and keen to see luxury brands succeed in the space. “It’s great to build the community and get feedback on what we’re doing and what can be improved,” says Matthew. “It’s why I love Web3. It’s about freedom of expression. It’s so dynamic. You put something out in the world and you see how it works and how the world reacts and you course correct and improve.”
For all the course correction, from a brand position, the Bstroy collaboration is very much business as usual: using new and exciting technology and culture in the brand story is not new. What is new is the subtle, nuanced, even pragmatic approach of the collaboration. Some of it is digital, some is physical. It’s innovative, yet remains true to the Givenchy style.
How did Givenchy Organise staff for the project?
This isn’t the first Web3 experiment for Givenchy. However, a year on from their collaboration with Chito, much has changed. Almost every fashion and luxury brand has experimented with digital storytelling to some degree; NFTs have continued to emerge as an intrinsic part of the luxury landscape. But the explosion of interest from business has been matched by a downturn in the market, the public clamour for NFTs temporarily dwindling.
Xenia sees this as an opportunity. “The crypto winter is not a roadblock,” she says, referring to the financial cold spell that has knocked 80% of the value off most cryptocurrencies. “Now is a good time to build and think about the future. It’s important for us to experiment and try things out in this space.”
In the year since the collaboration with Chito, something else has changed. “We have people who are very interested in Web3 and NFTs,” says Xenia. A reality that wasn’t the case a year ago. This meant much more of the project could be executed internally. Givenchy worked with the Aura team on the more technical aspects of the project, namely writing the smart contracts. But they weren’t heavily involved in the strategy, community building and marketing.
How does the collaboration change the experience in store?
The Bstroy collaboration is available in every Givenchy store in the U.S and select stores in France, Italy, The Netherlands and Spain. Having an in-store experience created a challenge for Givenchy. If you remember, a phygital is the NFT and the physical product. Customers buy the street wear in-store. If they know about the NFT, the shop assistant has to get their email address and send them details on how to claim the NFT. If the customer knows nothing of NFTs, phygitals and web3, the shop assistant has even more explaining to do.
In order to have a truly seamless omnichannel experience, Givenchy had to make sure the staff were trained for both outcomes, that they could explain NFTs, phygitals and how to claim the digital twin. The team created tailor-made training material for the in-house app.
How are Givenchy Measuring success for Bstroy?
To capturing the email address, Xenia says the team added capturing the Web3 wallet address. What’s a Web3 wallet address? This is where you store your NFTs and cryptocurrency. Due to its uniqueness and traceability, Maisons can send future NFTs and tailor-made content to an individual customer.
An additional KPI is the influence a buyer has on the wider collaboration. If they spread the word to their Web3 network and tell all their NFT friends, is this a small way to bring in new customers? In the same way Tiffany did with their NFTiff collection?
What Advice does Givenchy have for your Maison?
The Givenchy X Bstroy collection is an exciting showcase of how a Maison can use Web3 and NFTs as part of a wider collaboration. Using phygitals to engage and celebrate customers across the digital and physical world is a sign of what is to come. Givenchy have laid down a very impressive marker. Lastly we asked Xenia if she had any advice for a Maison wishing to replicate the Bstroy and Felt Zine collaboration. “Start early,” she says. “Make sure you allow more time for the project because all the different parties need to be aligned on this project.”
