Paco Rabanne is using NFTs to buy back its archive

To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. Fashion house Paco Rabanne is selling the future to buy back its past. The company is launching NFTs in collaboration with Selfridges in late April and plans to use the profits to finance additions to the house’s archive. The NFTs will feature in a specially designed Selfridges.com experience, following on from the virtual Paco Rabanne x Selfridges store in Decentraland during Metaverse Fashion Week. Paco Rabanne is owned by Spanish fragrance and fashion group Puig, whose brand portfolio also includes Jean Paul Gaultier. Prices for the 56 NFT dresses will start at £600, centred on 12 conceptual, opulent show pieces from early Paco Rabanne, including a spiky gold bustier gown, classic see-through chainmail and a barely-there lamé cape dress. It’s a nice nod to the “12 unwearable dresses in contemporary materials” from the designer’s celebrated first show in 1966, the brand says. It brings hard-to-wear pieces into the virtual world — where it’s easier to wear them. All profits from the NFTs will fund Paco Rabanne’s archive, including buying back archival garments, sketches, image rights, video and radio recordings of the designer himself and improving preservation and storage. Luxury NFT launches have been frequent in recent weeks, particularly during Metaverse Fashion Week, when Tommy Hilfiger, Etro and Rebecca Minkoff sold NFTs to appeal to young, Web3 savvy consumers. Use-cases and end goals have varied, with some brands seeing NFTs as loyalty and marketing plays. Paco Rabanne sees NFTs as a fundraising opportunity to reinvest in the brand’s future. “The house likes to delve into spaces where disciplines cross and meet,” says Nadia Dhouib, Paco Rabanne’s new general manager. Formerly at Galeries Lafayette, Dhouib is running the business following the recent departure of CEO Bastien Daguzan. “With this activation, Paco Rabanne wanted to share its know-how, its history and its values with a new audience,” Dhouib says. “These 12 NFTs are a way to… celebrate the creativity from our archives in a modern way.” Paco Rabanne’s current creative director Julien Dossena has been credited with reviving the house’s fashion direction since he took up the role in 2013. The brand’s 60th anniversary is coming up in 2026, and it’s a heritage that needs to be shared, says Dhouib. “It’s our role to cherish and to inspire the new generation. Selling archive pieces as NFTs to cherish the past feels very natural, almost like a virtuous circle.” The launch of the NFTs was delayed by several weeks, with a sizable waiting list already reported by the brand. They are being sold online using crypto payment provider Moonpay. The launch includes two £185,000 virtual pieces attached to a bespoke physical version, created in collaboration with Dossena and the French artisans who made the original pieces. The owners of these top-tier NFTs — the Cape of Rhodoid Crystals and the Samurai suit — will also attend Paco Rabanne’s next show. And a second batch of NFTs is already being mooted, intended to be wearable across different metaverses, including video games. Article has been updated to reflect a change in timing. 12 April, 2022 Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More from this author: Want to spend your crypto on fashion? Off-White now accepts it Indie designers on supply chain stresses and solutions Gen Z TikTok brands are changing how we shop

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