Lacoste steps into Web3 with UNDW3 NFT drop

Farfetch is accepting cryptocurrency payments, Nike has snatched up digital acreage in the Roblox metaverse, Eleven Paris has deployed a strategy based on NFTs and cryptocurrencies: regardless of size or market segment, fashion brands are upgrading their digital strategies and testing new ideas on the Web3 environment, the internet’s latest evolution involving shared ownership of virtual assets.

Lacoste first dipped its toes in the water by establishing a presence in and collaborating with Minecraft, creating a collection themed on the videogame, and a Croco Island within it. The French sportswear label's most recent initiative was launched on Tuesday, and is called UNDW3 (pronounced ‘under water’), described as “a journey allowing [Lacoste] community members to experience collaborative fashion in a new creative way.”

The UNDW3 experience will evolve over time, and its members will be able to contribute personally to it. To do so, the MF Brands-owned label has set up its own server on the Discord platform, which Lacoste is keen to use as a venue for fan-led debate and creativity. To kick it all off, on Tuesday Lacoste dropped a collection of 11,212 NFTs, a nod to the L1212 polo model, the first created by René Lacoste. The NFTs, featuring the image of a crocodile breaking the waterline, are offered at a price of ETH0.08, approximately €95 each. They are designed to give buyers privileged access to Lacoste's future Web3 initiatives.

“UNDW3 attests to our desire to accompany the phenomenon of decentralization driven by Web3, and bears witness to our ambitions in this area as well as to the power of our brand: to bring together our communities and connect cultures around the crocodile [logo], a true rallying sign throughout the world, by proposing an experiential, interactive and co-creative universe,” said Catherine Spindler, chief brand officer at Lacoste.

The UNDW3 community will enjoy a number of benefits: “collectors [of UNDW3 NFTs] will be able to access a pioneering ecosystem as well as digital, physical and experiential benefits from the Lacoste world, such as co-designed products reserved exclusively for them,” added Lacoste in a press release.

UNDW3 therefore seems to be a stepping stone for Lacoste, as the label is keen to explore the possibilities of Web3 in the coming seasons.

Lacoste reportedly generates a total revenue in excess of €2 billion, and is present in 98 countries with 1,100 monobrand stores.

Lacoste steps into Web3 with UNDW3 NFT drop

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