Even if NFTs aren't destined to become the mainstream success story that many believed they would be, perhaps they have a place as luxury goods offered exclusively to luxury clients. That seems to be the viewpoint suggested by Louis Vuitton, which is finally stepping into Web3 with its first digital collectibles: a limited run of digital trunks that cost €39,000 (over $41k) apiece.
Louis Vuitton's VIA Treasure Trunk aren't NFTs in the sense of Bored Ape Yacht Club's NFTs: whereas the latter delivered randomly generated pictures of monkeys wearing hats and smoking pipes, Louis Vuitton's digital collectibles are meant to be as exclusive and tasteful as LV's real-world product.
Hence why each VIA Treasure Trunk owner will receive a matching physical Louis Vuitton trunk with purchase, adding tangible incentive beyond the desire to collect rare NFTs. Louis Vuitton also promises VIA Treasure Trunk customers "access to subsequent digital keys that unlock digital collectibles" that include "new, limited products and experiences" like "immersive drops" planned to occur "at regular intervals throughout the year," according to a press release.
Launching June 8 on Louis Vuitton's website, the LV VIA Treasure Trunk collection aims to fulfill a promise made in the early days of NFT hype: digital collectibles can be every bit as covetable (and pricey) as IRL goods.
Louis Vuitton of course first stepped into the metaverse with Louis the Game, a mobile game that debuted in August 2021 as part of the luxury house's Louis 200 anniversary celebration.
The infinite runner-style game itself wasn't built on the blockchain but Louis the Game did hide 30 embedded NFTs built exclusively for Louis Vuitton by archetypal NFT artist Beeple.
But Louis Vuitton never stepped deeper into the metaverse until June 2023's VIA Treasure Trunks program. When asked by Highsnobiety to explain the timing of this NFT launch, a Louis Vuitton representative declined to comment.
Meanwhile, rivals like Gucci leaned heavily on web3 connections, selling off unique NFT art and even doubling down on the metaverse by enacting a "multi-year partnership" with Bored Ape Yacht Club parent Yuga Labs on March 27, 2023.
Luxury NFT projects are also not terribly novel: web3 tech company Ledger has tapped Fendi and AMBUSH for collaborative crypto wallets and Prada still regularly drops one-off NFTs.
But the idea of NFTs being a market primarily explored by the world's biggest fashion houses is new and intriguing, because it gives the digital collectibles the inherent exclusivity and priciness of luxury goods. Therein, the NFTs overlap with the world's richest consumers, the same people already spending thousands (or millions) in the art market.
The NFT market isn't dead, either, though it has shrunk significantly from 2021's highs. Even if demand for virtual collectibles was nill, though, the beauty of luxury is that it's essentially recession-proof and perpetually in-demand.
And are $41k NFTs any wilder than Louis Vuitton's leather pizza boxes or $87k foosball tables?
