“It’s about creating art out of love for him and not creating art just for funding. There’s very little that isn’t business these days,” Knight says. Part of that includes sharing creative expression and revenue with all contributors. To that end, ikon-1 will share the revenue with its main creative partners and has compensated all other contributors who are actively involved in the project. Adept at manipulating her own image, Jazzelle is also a figurehead for this new participatory spirit, Knight says, adding that this is a departure from the way models once worked with celebrity photographers like Cecil Beaton. , Richard Avedon, Irving Penn. and Helmut Newton. “Almost everyone was saying the same thing: ‘We had no control. We had no voice. We were not part of it. I think that’s a sea change now.”

The fashion community needs to create and buy Web3 technologies for the two parties to really come together. Web3 also needs fashion. The alternative, he warns, is a future divorced from creativity and artists. “It’s not until you put it in the hands of the artist that it becomes culturally significant,” she says.

Future plans are under wraps. Long ago, he began 3D-scanning supermodels, including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Karlie Kloss, often encouraging them to participate in creating their own avatars, ahead of an inevitable fashion future in which their iconic images, similar to those of Marilyn Monroe in April of this year—are employed without her presence.

He has gotten to know several creatives who are more native to the space. “It is quite moving. These are people who want to do a great job, and there is no cynicism about it,” he says. There is often a strong sense of community that reminds you of those found at traditional fashion events. “I didn’t really take into account meeting 30 new fashion designers; it’s kind of like fashion week: it’s a great deal of people’s visions… I wanted to convey that through ikon-1. This is a gift, you know, this is an offering. And it’s just the first step towards a lot of other really exciting things.”

For now, he’s anxious about how this first project will be received, but he considers the act of trying to be a success in itself. This mindset is more in keeping with tech companies, which thrive on flops and iterations, than high-end fashion, which is expected to deliver perfection every time. “I think the whole creative process is full of your own mistakes and failures, but that’s what makes us human, you know? But every mistake is a new opportunity.”

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