Jonathan Koon’s 8-Bit Brings ‘Phygital’ Fashion to Department Stores
The “phygital” phenomenon is hitting some of the world’s largest department stores, as Jonathan Koon’s 8-Bit launched Monday under his streetwear label, Mostly Heard Rarely Seen. Each item in the collection includes the physical garment and its NFT version.
The term, a portmanteau of “digital” and “physical,” is a fitting, albeit clunky way to refer to digital products, such as avatar wear or virtual art and collectibles, that come with a physical counterpart or vice versa. For Koon, that translates into athleisure and streetwear with QR codes that not only come with an NFT version of the item, but also fast-tracks luxury customers into the virtual world of Highstreet, a retail and gaming-oriented metaverse built on the blockchain.
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The collection will be carried by Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Beymen and Bloomingdale’s, among others.
Naturally, given the premium clientele, the experience was designed to