The future, now

Is the metaverse having a 'meta' moment or are virtual collectibles, digital models and ownership in an alternate universe a new reality? Vogue India explores the future of Indian fashion on the precipice of a tech revolution.

- AKSHARA SUBRAMANIAN

 IT IS UNLIKELY that you'd need an NFT refresher at this point, given the internet's obsession with it. But if you're only partially convinced about its future and feel overwhelmed about where to start, join the club. From Louis Vuitton's 'Louis The Game' app to Burberry's drop in the mythical game Blankos and Dolce & Gabbana's Collezione Genesi that sold for $5.7 million, there has been a layer of legitimacy and success around fashion NFTs and yet, we somehow don't know what to do with it when it comes down to the actual process. So what does normal mean to the fashion world in 2022?

From basically illegible press releases about non-fungible tokens (NFTs), to where and how to buy one, whether it is too much of a risk and what its value will be a decade down the line, here is a decisive narrative arc on fashion's latest bubble after speaking to tech investors, founders of NFT marketplaces and Indian designers who are doubling down on Web3.

As third on the list for highest number of NFT companies in the world (behind the US and China), India is ripe for experimentation. "The single biggest issue surrounding the Web3 space is a lack of awareness about the fundamentals of blockchain and the unnecessary jargonisation that comes with it," says Vignesh Ramanujam, Partner at Lok Capital and investor in over 35 early-stage tech companies across India, Singapore and the US.