What were the biggest Web3 moments of 2024?

It’s been a quiet year for Web3. As the initial hype continues to wane, most brands focused their efforts on navigating the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. But a select few remained committed to their Web3 strategies, exploring augmented and virtual reality, digital avatars, blockchain-enabled tokens, and gaming. This year wasn’t about making headlines; rather, it was about refining how Web3 innovations could enhance a brand’s digital storytelling and deliver greater value to consumers. Next year looks set to follow a similar trajectory, with players drilling down into where emerging technologies fit into their ambitions. Below, we highlight the key Web3 moments of 2024, alongside the brands that leveraged the technology most effectively. Nicola Formichetti joins Syky Kicking the year off in style — in January Nicola Formichetti, known for styling Lady Gaga’s iconic meat dress and holding leadership roles at Mugler and Diesel, joined digital fashion house Syky as artistic director. Formichetti’s role includes amplifying Syky’s presence at cultural moments, acting as an ambassador, and nurturing emerging talent through the Syky Collective. The move was a major step for Web3 as it gained credibility within the luxury fashion industry. Since his appointment, Formichetti has curated Syky’s London fashion week physical event, helped bring indie designers such as YC designer and CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Kate Barton into the digital realm, and enabled Syky’s first foray into nail design. Maison Margiela releases Tabi boot NFT In March, Maison Margiela launched its cult-classic Tabi boot into the metaverse through an NFT collaboration with digital fashion house The Fabricant, marking its first token-gated Web3 activation. The MetaTabi NFT was made available in two editions: a super-limited white version linked to a physical Tabi and offering future metaverse utilities, and a limited black edition paired with a Maison Margiela leather wallet. Both act as “mint-passes” for future collections. Powered by the Aura Blockchain Consortium, this move merges the brand’s avant-garde legacy with digital innovation, creating a bridge between fashion history and Web3’s community-driven ethos. But with John Galliano no longer at the helm of the brand, what’s next for Maison Margiela’s virtual ambitions? PS2 AI filter takes social media by storm April saw the meteoric rise of the PS2 filter trend, which involved users recreating themselves and popular album covers as retro video game characters inspired by early 2000s PlayStation 2 games. The trend, fueled by AI tool Replicate and popularized by a viral clip from user @hurtabdu1, gained traction on platforms like Instagram in the West and Xiaohongshu in China, where over 3.5 million posts now showcase users embracing the glitchy, nostalgic aesthetic. Brands, including Balenciaga and OMighty, jumped in, incorporating the trend into their campaigns, reflecting a growing interest in digital culture and nostalgia. While the trend is visually appealing, it also highlights broader shifts towards digital personas and user-generated content, marking a significant step in the merging of fashion and technology. Louis Vuitton drops $8,000 phygital jacket On the heels of its $6,300 phygital mini trunk in November last year, Louis Vuitton dropped a digitized version of its leather varsity jacket, which originally appeared on its Fall/Winter 2024 men’s runway in January, to the 200 members of its Via community in April. Designed by the maison’s menswear creative director Pharrell Williams, the Western-inspired jacket featured suede buckskin and an embroidered logo. It was also the first ready-to-wear garment to be reimagined as an NFT from the brand and arrived with a $8,400 (7,900 euros) price tag. The jacket was the latest iteration of NFTs to come from the LVMH golden child — the first was a $42,000 limited-run version of the iconic LV trunk in June 2023. Adidas auctions off $20,000 digital necklace In June, Adidas and Roblox broke records with the sale of a one-of-a-kind $20,000 digital necklace. The diamond and gold necklace, created in collaboration with 25-year-old Cleveland-based Roblox creator Jonathan Courtney, was the most expensive item ever sold on the platform, following Gucci’s sale of its $4,000 virtual Dionysus handbag in 2021. The necklace was snapped up almost instantly by high-end collector Simon Burgess in Roblox for 2 million Robux (approximately $20,000). Burgess also received a physical pair of customized F-50 Elite Laceless Fast Reborn FG Boots and Campus 00s as part of the purchase. Beauty brands start selling real products in Roblox Another win for Roblox. In July, the platform announced that it would be officially selling real-life items. In partnership with ELF Cosmetics, the app began offering real-world commerce to audiences, marking a milestone for the beauty industry’s burgeoning relationship with gaming. Players over 13 could purchase items including a hoodie, sunscreen, lip balm, and lip oil via a Walmart-powered virtual kiosk within the ELF Up! experience on Roblox. Customers were also granted a virtual twin of their purchase, which they could use within Roblox. ELF Cosmetics’ expansion is a strategy that many brands are shifting towards as the platform fleshes out its capabilities; in September, Roblox announced a partnership with Shopify to bring more physical goods into its universe. Chanel unveils tech wearable A somewhat unlikely contender in the emerging tech space, Chanel in August joined the growing tech wearable race with its own nostalgia-inspired product that blended heritage with innovation. The Première Sound, a watch-slash-earphone hybrid, was created to combine the craft of timepiece-making with smart technology functions, allowing wearers to take calls, listen to music, and control audio and video playback. The concept of tech wearables remains niche in luxury, but its impact is growing; this year saw Meta revamp its smart eyewear collab with Ray-Ban, brands including Gucci and Balenciaga flock to Apple’s buzzy Vision Pro, and designer Grace Ling team up with AI startup Humane at fashion week. Louis Vuitton launches discord game To celebrate one year of its Discord channel, Louis Vuitton last month released an exclusive gaming experience for its Discord community. Coined “Enigma,” the virtual puzzle experience enabled players to receive a new puzzle every day, which they must solve to find the brand’s mascot, Vivienne, in a virtual maze. The game, which ran from November 26 to 30, was heavily inspired by Louis Vuitton’s classic travel theme. With over 150 million monthly active users, could Discord be luxury’s next big thing in 2025? Nike’s RTFKT shuts down Seeing out a year marked by subdued Web3 hype, the tech community was met with a shock when it was announced that Nike-acquired digital fashion and sneaker studio RTFKT would be ceasing operations early next year. The news, which was announced earlier this month, sent ripples through the brand’s dedicated community of NFT and crypto enthusiasts. Rtfkt was bought by Nike in December 2021 for an undisclosed sum after establishing itself as the “Supreme” of Web3. However, a downturn in hype around crypto and NFTs, coupled with RTFKT’s own internal struggles with customer satisfaction and communication, led to the brand’s ultimate demise — a cautionary tale for new-wave disruptors trying to crack the tech-fashion market.

What were the biggest Web3 moments of 2024?

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Published December 22, 2024

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What were the biggest Web3 moments of 2024?