WEB3 OPPORTUNITIES FOR BETTER CREATIVE INDUSTRIES – INTERVIEW WITH MARJORIE HERNANDEZ FOUNDER OF ‘THE DEMATERIALISED’

How long did it take from having the idea of an NFT fashion platform to the launch?
In March 2020 I co-Founded THE DEMATERIALISED with Karinna Grant. We launched in December of 2020, and were the first experiential digital fashion marketspace in Web3.

“Dematerialised“, yet a blooming, avant-garde business – how do you welcome the increasing loss of physicality in fashion?
I always have had a passion for dematerialisation. We are entering a new digital era and I believe that the future is dematerialised. One of the largest revolutions the fashion industry has ever faced is happening right now with digital fashion. As our physical and digital realities become truly juxtaposed, brands, creators and designers are exploring how their value proposition today can translate into a more digital future. This evolution for both creators and users is very exciting. With digital fashion and the power of Web3, designers can explore how fashion can be enhanced without creative limitations commonly faced in our physical world.
Globally known brands and emerging designers are creating beautiful digital and phygital fashion pieces that allow the ownership experience to transcend from purely physical ownership to multiverse ownership between creative realms in the New Creative Economy. With NFT 2.0, digital fashion garments become more dynamic than ever before, and allow for storytelling to evolve in Web3 while integrating brand new immersive experiences. Owners now have the opportunity to create direct relationships on-chain with their favourite designers and become a part of a larger community in an open and interoperable ecosystem. LUKSO enables this transition between the physical and digital to be seamless. Physical garments can have digital twins and the onboarding process can be as simple as the scan of a QR code or the click of a button. The possibilities are endless, and the potential for the fashion industry in the multiverse has yet to be exhausted.

Comparing the development of trends in the digital universe vs. “the real world”, how do these differ?
It is important to highlight that digital reality and physical reality are both “real”. Anything we can perceive is “real”, whether it is a digital or physical experience. The line between digital and physical reality is continuing to blur and will become truly juxtaposed. We are seeing new developments across XR and blockchain, along with the adoption of these innovative technologies at an exponential rate, which will continue to increase in our dematerialised and decentralized future. The true Metaverse is an open Metaverse, so interoperable identities and assets are key. This is enabled through new tools and standards specifically built for the New Creative Economy, like the building blocks we have introduced at LUKSO, which will bring blockchain to this next frontier. We are now seeing power shift from the platforms to the people themselves. In Web3, creators will be able to enter the New Creative Economy without intermediaries for the first time ever and we will then see creators issue assets and even cultural currencies directly from their very own Universal Profiles.

Thinking of Alexander McQueen for example, fashion often seems almighty enough to fight laws of physics, seemingly ignoring gravity or letting things appear lightweight. Is NFT fashion the key to the ultimate expression via garments?
With digital fashion, designers and brands are truly empowered to challenge the status quo and explore new methods of expression through multidimensional garments. A brand or designer can evolve their garments to seamlessly incorporate technology that allows for both the creator and the user to be empowered through blockchain technology. This can be achieved with Universal Profiles and NFTs can have more functionality when using new standards, like NFT 2.0.
At times, the laws of physics may act as a barrier for creative processes in our physical world, but they are no longer a factor in this new digital creative process. In the New Creative Economy, creative processes, expression, ownership and assets can be truly brought to the next level and expression becomes multidimensional and limitless. Anything that creators can imagine can now be built without physical constraints.

Does NFT fashion rebuild the same, often oppressive, inaccessible, and undemocratic structures we can see in real life?
Digital fashion is accessible, limitless and empowering. Inaccessible and undemocratic structures of the past are overcome with new technology and decentralization. We are seeing a redistribution of power and wealth in Web3. Power is now shifting from the platforms to the creators and users themselves. With essential blockchain solutions like Universal Profiles, creators are able to have a simplified onboarding experience and access the New Creative Economy directly from their own digital identity, rather than relying on third party platforms or intermediaries. We are at the very beginning of the New Creative Economy and new precedents are being set, while old patterns across various global creative industries are being challenged and changed.

Is success in NFT fashion more structurally accessible or rather randomized and intuitive?
To be successful in the NFT fashion space it is important to understand that long-term strategy will always beat speed. Things like authenticity, community, transparency, sustainability, multiverse utility are important, as well as immersing yourself into the ecosystem and building with future-proof tools and standards that empower both the creator and the user. Brands should embrace our increasingly digital world and should be strategizing for a decentralized and dematerialised future, where previously siloed industries are converging in an open and interoperable ecosystem.
NFT fashion does not have a “one size fits all” framework for success, the possibilities are truly endless and the design processes and ownership experiences are no longer bound by physical limitations. In Web3, creators and users are now able to interact, unlock immersive experiences and build together in brand new ways. What is most important is that the tools needed to participate are accessible to all, and LUKSO has built this foundation for the New Creative Economy with accessible tools and solutions for mainstream adoption and use cases.

Do you see the energy-expensive crypto, NFT & Metaverse markets catalyzing renewable/sustainable energy innovations?
Yes, sustainability and transparency are very important. At THE DEMATERIALISED we use LUKSO blockchain, which is a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain. Compared to other blockchains that use Proof of Work (PoW), PoS uses 99% less energy. At THE DEMATERIALISED we use LUKSO blockchain, which is a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain. Compared to other blockchains that use Proof of Work (PoW), PoS uses 99% less energy.

Picture courtesy of THE DEMATERIALISED