Fashion
Hermès reveals plans for Metaverse fashion shows, crypto and NFTs
The trademark application comes months after filing a lawsuit against NFT project MetaBirkins for allegedly using its Birkin brand to sell digital collectibles.
Source: Cointelegraph / Judith Bannermanquist
Luxury brand Hermès is laying the groundwork for its entrance to Web3 after filing a trademark application covering nonfungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrencies and the Metaverse.
According to an Aug. 26 filing to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the trademark covers downloadable software to view, store and manage virtual goods, digital collectibles, cryptocurrencies and NFTs “for use in online worlds.”
It also filed trademarks for “retail store services featuring virtual goods” as well as fashion and trade shows in “online virtual, augmented or mixed reality environments” and for “providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of virtual goods.”
The new trademark application comes months after filing a lawsuit against Metabirkins founder Mason Rothschild in January for allegedly using the brand’s Birkin name to make money from sales and resales for his NFT Metabirkins collection.
In a 47-page legal complaint against Rothschild, Hermès alleged that the “MetaBirkins brand simply rips off Hermès’ famous Birkin bag trademark by adding the generic prefix ‘meta’ to the famous trademark Birkin,” thereby creating the illusion that the MetaBirkins brand was a part of the luxury Hermès’ Birkin brand.
Related: Metaverse is a key factor in long-term NFT success, says new research
The lawsuit against Rothschild could be one of the reasons why the company has gone ahead to file its own protections that will cover the Metaverse, crypto and NFT-related products and tokens.
The luxury brand is neither the first or the likely the last to make moves in the Metaverse.
Earlier this year, Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week, a four-day digital fashion event featuring wearables on virtual runways, saw the appearance of luxury brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder and Elie Saab.
Last month, data from Dune Analytics revealed that leading brands including Nike, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Adidas and Tiffany & Co. had amassed a combined $260 million worth of sales from NFTs.
