All you need to know about Louis Vuitton’s first NFT offering
Louis Vuitton, the French luxury fashion house is unlocking access to it’s first NFT offering from the collection called “VIA”. The first product from this collection is the VIA Treasure Trunk NFT, which essentially is the iconic Louis Vuitton Trunk with 160 years of history behind it. The supply is limited to several hundred pieces.
It’s a Phygital drop, meaning the owners of the NFT will receive a Physical Trunk matching to their NFT. In order to buy it, you have to visit Louis Vuitton’s website where the waitlist is open on 8th June — enter details like your name, wallet address, country etc. During 12–16 June, the participants will receive a confirmation if they are selected to buy the NFT. On 16th June, the selected ones will be invited to a private homepage where they will be guided through an exclusive journey to finally acquire the VIA Treasure Trunk. The drop is available in US, Canada, France, UK, Germany, Japan and Australia only.
According to a statement by the Maison, the trunks “will act as portals into the world of Louis Vuitton, revealing new, limited products and experiences through immersive drops which will be progressively launched at regular intervals throughout the year.” Owners of the VIA Treasure Trunk NFT will be able to purchase digital keys in order to access these limited edition, one-of-their kind products and experiences.
Sometime in the next month of July, owners will finally be able to see what other unseen collectibles the Maison has in store for them. The first of which will be revealed alongside the next Louis Vuitton Men’s show by Pharell Williams.
Now, let’s address the two important aspects of this drop -
- It’s priced at €39,000
The price point of the NFT which is $41,200 approx has caught the attention of the fashion industry. In January of last year, LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault hinted that high-value items might be the best approach to applying these technologies to the company’s brands.
He said, “It can undoubtedly have a positive impact — if it is well done — on the activity of the brands, but it is not our objective to sell virtual sneakers at €10. We are not interested in that.”
By this statement, it is very clear that Louis Vuitton wants to be the luxury brand that it is, in the Web3 realm too. It is integrating its IRL heritage and craftsmanship into the Web3 initiatives. One reason behind why the NFTs are priced so is because it comes with a physical counterpart, which the owner will be purchasing from the real Louis Vuitton brand. It’s just like buying the physical trunk from the brand, but with an NFT and access to other limited edition drops.
2. It’s a Soul-bound Collectible
The VIA Treasure Trunk NFT is a soul-bound collectible, meaning the ownership is non-transferable. The original owner of the NFT cannot resell it in the secondary market like Opensea, Magic Eden, Blur etc. People also cannot return their Treasure Trunks (although in EU countries, people can do so within 14 days after ordering one). But, the Digital Keys which will be introduced later are not soul-bound, and can be resold.
By making the initial offering a soul-bound collectible, Louis Vuitton is protecting its luxury status, just like in the case of pricing of NFT. It ensures that only the consumers that are truly interested in the physical product and can afford it, will buy it. One of the pillars of a true luxury brand is limited access and limited supply. If a luxury brand doesn’t keep a watch on who’s buying their product, the existing customers start to see the product offerings as ordinary, less aspirational and as a result lose interest in the brand.
Interestingly, this launch will also hint at how many of their existing customers are adapting to the world of cryptocurrency and Web3 drops like NFTs.
