Selfridges enters the meta-universe with Paco Rabbane

Selfridges will be the first-ever entry into the meta-universe, and for the department store’s customers, it will be a unique token buying experience.

British luxury department store operator Selfridges, in partnership with the Paco Rabbane brand and the French museum Fondation Vasarelli, enters the meta-universe. The joint project will bring together fashion, art, theater, retail, and NFT under one roof.

Selfridges is preparing to become the first store in the world to sell NFT at a fixed price directly “over the counter.” The company will present a universe of unique storefronts, pop-up spaces, art displays, and NFT.

The show will include several paintings from the Vasarelli collection that haven’t been shown in the U.K. for the past 50 years. Thirty-seven works will be for sale along with a series of specially commissioned NFTs created by London-based NFT platform Substance. The first 12 dresses made by Paco Raban will also be on sale. The tokens will be priced between £2,000 and £100,000.

“As Selfridges looks to the future, we continue to find inspiration in the past. In the case of Victor Vasarely and Paco Rabanne, we have over fifty years of future suggestions to explore,” commented Selfridges executive director of purchasing and merchandising Sebastian Manes.

For Selfridges, it will be the first-ever entry into the meta-universe. For the department store’s customers, a unique experience of purchasing tokens with a bank card payment through the cash register, without the need for cryptocurrency.

The project also includes the launch of Paco Rabanne’s Spring-Summer 2022 collection, which the designers drew inspiration from Vasarely’s work. Clothing and accessories from the new collection will be on sale at Selfridges during the following season, both on sale and for hire.

Funds generated from the sale of the NFT will go to the Vasarely Museum in Aix-en-Provence, where the artist’s works are housed and will be used to restore critical works of art.

A meta version of the new project will be available on Decentraland, and tokens will go on sale at the main Selfridges department store in London and on the Substance platform after January 28, 2022.

Want to share your company’s latest updates, store openings, or partnerships?

• Submit your press release or retail news to Malls.com and reach thousands of retail professionals worldwide.