Diving summary:

• luxury fashion platform syky has raised $9.5 million in a Series A funding round, the company announced this week. Seven Seven Six, the investment firm created by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, led the funding round, and Brevan Howard Digital, Leadout Capital, First Light Capital Group and Polygon Ventures also participated in the round.
• The company said the financing will allow it to run syky founder and CEO Alicia delahuntand allows creators to curate, build, share and market their fashion collections, according to a company press release.
• The company also said that it plans to launch its first non-fungible token, Keystone, on Friday, which will act as a membership pass to access the company’s membership space and other hot events. Keystone holders will also receive fashion and tech briefings and have access to their network of creatives. Fifty Keystones will be awarded to aspiring designers, for ad.

Diving information:

Along with other brands and retailers experimenting with NFTs, Syky is tying exclusive benefits to its token. The company said it will offer token holders access to exclusive designer collections and early notice of its alpha and beta releases and partner projects, according to the press release.

“Fashion is on the brink of a renaissance, fueled by technology and the next generation of creators,” Delahunt said in a statement. “With Syky, our goal is to build a platform that equalizes the creative opportunities for aspiring designers, showcases the best in fashion from established and emerging brands, and cultivates a community passionate about the evolution of fashion.”

Meanwhile, other brands and retailers have been experimenting with their own virtual marketplaces. In November, Nike launched its online center for Nike members to collect and co-create virtual goods, including shoes and t-shirts. That same month, Adidas introduced a product category on your website for virtual goods. Other brands, including Cougar, lacoste Y tiffanyhave presented NFT projects with special benefits.

But as brands and retailers dive headfirst into the metaverse and launch non-fungible token projects, it remains to be seen whether consumers will fully embrace the concept and how it will play out over time. In May, Wunderman Thompson Intelligence released a survey indicating that 74% of consumers surveyed had heard of the metaverse, but only 15% felt they could explain the idea to others. And a July report from Forrester warned that online shoppers you won’t have interoperable experiences even a decade from now.