NFTs To Go Buy Now Pay Later at New York Fashion Week in September

Buy Now Pay Later Service provider Afterpay is entering the NFT market.

The fintech company, which is also the official presenting partner of New York Fashion Week: The Shows, has teamed up with five NYFW designers – Altu by Joseph Altuzarra, AnOnlyChild, Jonathan Simkhai, Kim Shui and The Blonds – to offer NFT by Edition limited. .

The project is titled The Keys to New York Fashion Week, and each NFT designer is a one-of-a-kind figural collection — containing both digital artwork and physical pieces or experiential elements centered around accessibility.

Each NFT will be sold for $100, and Afterpay will allow consumers to purchase NFTs by splitting the payment into four interest-free installments at Keys.NYFW.com.

For the NFT digital artworks, each designer drew inspiration from their Spring/Summer ’23 collections, while additional services include a choice of limited edition experiences and items.

The Altu by Joseph Altuzarra NFT comes with a leather jacket and oversized T-shirt or annual membership to a TBD New York art museum, while the Jonathan Simkhai edition includes a private meet and greet shopping experience with the designer or original runway sketches. The Spring 23 collection debuts on September 13.

AnOnlyChild, The Blonds and Kim Shui offers respectively include a limited edition belt bag, signed copies of the brand’s upcoming book, The Blonds: Glamour, Fashion, Fantasy and a custom designed hoodie or tickets after party and fashion shows.

Many designers have previously engaged with Web 3.0 and the metaverse. Last season, for example, Simkhai showed digital versions of his collection IRL through Second Life, which were sold as NFT wearables.

For Kim Shui, whose fans include Cardi B and Kylie Jenner, the emerging universe of Web 3.0 is a perfect fit. Since her launch in 2017, the designer has developed her brand alongside her online community and for her upcoming Spring ’23 collection is offering one of her prints.

“My brand is co-created online, our community is constantly inspiring us,” she told me via email. “NFTs can drive that and strengthen the sense of community with whole new levels of customer engagement. It can change the relationship between the consumer and the brand. The possibilities are endless.”

On the fact that shoppers are given the choice between owning something physical and participating in an experience, she adds that “it’s about focusing on the utility for the customer first and what they would prefer – I wanted it to be personal. Some people prefer experiences, others prefer physical items – so it was about giving them that option.”

All proceeds from the sale of designer NFT Keys will be donated to Free Arts NYC, which brings art and mentoring programs to children in underserved communities in New York City.

In addition, Afterpay will release free, limited-quantity NFTs with services, including a free 6-month trial of TIDAL HiFi Plus, access to a close NYFW Instagram friends group, and an invitation to RSVP to the NYFW sessions: The Talks.

Last season, Clearpay, the name of Afterpay’s European division, collaborated with British designer Roksanda Ilincic on digital NFT and AR versions of a heroic look from the British designer’s Fall 22 collection.

Both designer NFT Keys and free NFT Afterpay will be hosted on the Polygon network, considered one of the greenest blockchains, as it is one of the most energy efficient.

While still pretty good in terms of numbers, the project marks an important step in integrating the emerging world of Web 3.0 with more traditional fashion consumption.

As of March 31, 2022, Afterpay is offered by over 144,000 retailers worldwide with more than 20 million active customers. Afterpay is currently available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain, where it is known as Clearpay. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Block Inc.