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Welcome to 🪩The Digital Runway 🪩 — your go to guide to Fashion, Tech & Trends! 🚀

🌟 This week, explore the intersection of fashion, tech, and gaming! Discover how Roblox sold a $20,000 Adidas necklace with customized shoes, how luxury brands are using NFC chips for authentication, and how you can get paid to work at IKEA's virtual Roblox store! Read on for details👇

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🗞️ In this Issue #010

1. Get Paid to Play: Work at IKEA’s Roblox Store

📚 What you need to know

• Virtual Store Experience: IKEA’s opening a store in Roblox, The Co-Worker Game, on June 24, 2024 and hiring virtual workers in the UK, paying real money ($16 per hour).

• Interactive Job Application: Applicants answer fun questions like, “If you were a pixelated Ikea furniture, what would you be?” and “What would you do if we ran out of pixelated hot dogs in our bistro?”

  

  Source: Ikea

💡 Why this matters

• Immersive Employment: Merges virtual gaming with real-world employment opportunities.

• Real Money Opportunities: Providing real wages for virtual work highlights the growing importance of digital platforms in the job market and offers a new way to earn while gaming.

Read more on WIRED here

2. How OTB’s NFC Chips Bring Transparency and Verification to Luxury Goods

📚 What you need to know

• Blockchain Certification. OTB to launch digital authenticity certificates for Jil Sander, Maison Margiela and Marni.

• NFC Chip Integration. Starting Fall/Winter 24/25 collections, each item will have a NFC chip to confirm authenticity.

• Counterfeit Crackdown: Diesel seizes 44,000 fake handbags in China, using QR code authentication and collaboration with the Aura Blockchain Consortium.

• Aura Blockchain is a collaborative effort among luxury brands, including LVMH, OTB Group Prada Group, and Richemont, aimed at enhancing transparency and traceability in the luxury goods industry. It utilizes blockchain technology to provide consumers with digital authenticity certificates, integrated into the production process and often accompanied by NFC chips in products.

💡 Why this matters

• Authenticity Verification. Blockchain tech ensures authenticity, boosts transparency, and elevates the customer experience. No more second-guessing your new designer piece especially if it’s vintage.

• Technological Leadership. Brands implementing comprehensive blockchain systems are setting new standards in fashion tech.

Read more on OTB Group here

3. $20,000 for an Adidas Necklace in Roblox and 2 Customized Pairs of Adidas Shoes

📚 What you need to know

• Record-breaking Sale: Simon Burgess (Roblox Studio Co-Founder) bought a one of a kind digital necklace for $20,000, designed by Adidas and Roblox creator Jonathan Courtney.

  Physical and Digital Perks: The necklace features Adidas’s branding and a gold pendant shaped like the F50 football boot plus two customized pairs of Adidas shoes.

  

  Source: Adidas & Roblox

💡 Why this matters

• Innovative Revenue Models: Brands can create new revenue streams with saleable in-game assets.

• Gaming Industry Growth: With the gaming industry's expansion, brands can tap into both physical and digital experiences.

Read more on Vogue Business here

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The market for digital authenticity and getting paid for digital work became more real this week.

Who would have thought that IKEA would lead by paying virtual store employees? This innovative move paves the way for the digital job market. Who is applying for this?

As for authentication, I love vintage shopping, but we are completely at the mercy of those authenticating items manually. Even Luxury stores in Paris struggle to confirm authenticity of Grade A counterfeits, so OTB Group’s move to use blockchain verification through NFC Chips is a W for everyone from the brands to consumers to vintage buyers.

What did you think of the news from this week? Let me know.

💬 Let’s connect

Got questions about Fashion, Tech & Trends? Hit reply and let me know.

- Janey

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