Happy Nice Mall

The love affair between fashion and NFTs shows no signs of waning. The newest irreplaceable coin has everyone shuddering with excitement: a perfect 3D digital replica of the patchwork JW Anderson cardigan that became a viral hit while Harry Styles wore it during the pandemic. Created with Xydrobe, it was sold at auction on Dec. 14 for two Ether (cryptocurrency), or about $7,500.

this is much less Records set by Beeple, or Dolce-Gabbana, but still the original garment is almost four times the price IRL, making Jonathan Anderson the latest designer to join the club of metaverse collectors. (All proceeds will be donated to AKT, a charity that supports LGBTQ+ youth.) Here, Mr. Anderson explains how the partnership came about and where he thinks it is headed.

NFTs are very active right now. How did you decide you wanted to be a part of this movement?

Xydrobe approached us and I wondered. I collect art and have seen these auction houses sell NFTs. Sometimes I think the natural reaction to NFTs is “I have no idea what it’s about”. But actually the more I dig into it, the more I see people building these incredible things. The world is changing and there are different ways of looking at how art can be perceived.

So you accepted.

I thought, “Well, we’re going to do something.” Fashion is about experience. It’s about taking risks on things. Sometimes it’s taking risks for things you don’t know. But we need something historical, with a kind of iconography. And the only thing that really worked was this sweater.

Before it became an NFT, it was its own hashtag: #harrystylescardigan. What exactly happened again?

At the start of the pandemic, I started seeing all these people on Instagram wearing this patchwork cardigan we made for a menswear collection. And in my head, we haven’t sold many of them.

So, “Where did these come from?” You thought.

Yeah. And I started following people who knit cardigans on TikTok. It was because of Harry Styles. Her stylist Harry Lambert borrowed it for a rehearsal, wore it, and it was absolutely insane. This is probably one of the most positive things to come out of my pandemic experience because I’ve been watching thousands of people from all over the world remake this cardigan, as well as make hats and dog clothes. I even saw an intermediate curtain. It was completely out of my control, which is the best thing.

It’s in the V&A now, right?

I’m on the museum’s board of directors and we had Harry Styles donate it. It really cemented a moment in pandemic history and pop culture.

And from there it became a digital file, a kind of 360 degree journey.

It is completely accurate down to the thread count. It took about 300 hours to build. If it’s going to be there forever, it needs to be executed nicely. I think this is something really special.

Like saving something. You sell the record of this thing, it’s really like a time capsule. It’s all about the idea of ​​the craft and how you can encapsulate it in a digital format to make it last longer. For me, this could open up a conversation about how things are done.. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever worked on.

were you a player

I’ve never been good at playing games. I remembered playing Mortal Kombat and I was really bad at it. My brother was very good. I was good at Aladdin. But now I’m looking at engagement and how players interact and think: How do we get people to look at a brand and gain this completely different level of engagement? Cardigan going to the metaverse?

Does it? So is it likely that we’ll see more of that and more NFTs?

We are already working on another project with xydrobe. And we’re making some weird fake cartoon characters coming out next year that you can cut out and change out of their clothes and body parts. I hired the kid who made these awesome digital videos I found on the internet. They’re like some kind of manga fictional characters who will wear the collection we showcased in Milan in January, and then you can play with it and wear or cut and change the braids. They have no gender.

is it fun

Now, as a creative director, I feel like you need to consider communicating in all the different mediums. Sitting in his office and saying, “Well, what are we going to do?” you can’t say. You have to participate. The level of curiosity has to be really high, or you risk becoming a former fashion designer sitting in the office. It is one of the most fascinating parts of the era we live in.

This talk has been edited and shortened. It appeared as part of the On the Runway Instagram Live series.