The love affair between fashion and NFTs shows no signs of waning. The latest non-replaceable token to keep everyone tingling with excitement: a perfect 3D digital replica of the patchwork JW Anderson vest that became a viral hit during the pandemic when Harry Styles wore it. Created with xydrobe, it sold at auction on December 14 for two Ether (the cryptocurrency), or about $7,500.
That’s a lot less than the records of Beeple, or even Dolce & Gabbana, but still nearly four times the price of the original garment IRL, making Jonathan Anderson the latest designer to join the metaverse collector’s club. (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’s all going.
NFTs are very popular right now. What made you decide to be part of this trend?
We were approached by xydrobe and I was curious. I collect art and saw these auction houses sell NFTs. I think sometimes the natural response to NFTs is, “Well, I have no idea what it’s about.” But I actually find that 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 art.
So you agreed.
I thought, “Well, let’s do something.” Fashion is about experimenting. It’s about taking risks on things. And sometimes it’s about taking risks with things you don’t know about. But we need something that has some kind of iconography, something that has to do with history. And the only thing that really worked was this vest.
Before it was an NFT, it was its own hashtag: #harrystylescardigan. What exactly happened again?
At the start of the pandemic, I saw all these people on Instagram wearing this patchwork cardigan that we made for a men’s collection. And in my mind we didn’t sell many of them.
So you thought, “Where do these come from?”
Yes. And I started following people on TikTok who were knitting the cardigan. It was because of Harry Styles. His stylist Harry Lambert borrowed it for a rehearsal, he wore it, and it went absolutely crazy. It’s probably one of the most positive things that came out of my pandemic experience as I saw thousands of people from all parts of the world recreating this vest, as well as hats and dog outfits. I even saw curtains at one point. It was completely out of my control, and that’s what the best things are.
Now it’s in the Q&A, right?
I’m on the board of the museum and we got Harry Styles to donate it. It really solidified a moment of pandemic history and pop culture.
And from there it has become a digital file, a kind of 360-degree journey.
It is completely accurate down to the thread count. It took about 300 hours to make. If it’s going to be there forever, it must be beautifully executed. I think it’s really something special.
It’s like recording something. You’re selling the recording of this thing, really like a time capsule. It’s about the idea of craft and how you can kind of encapsulate it in a digital format so that it lasts even longer. For me this can open up a conversation about how things are made. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever worked on.
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Were you a gamer?
I was never good at gaming. 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 look at engagement and how gamers interact and think, how do we get people to look at a brand and get that totally different level of engagement? Does the vest lead to the metaverse?
Do it? So we’ll probably see more of this, 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 where you can chop and swap clothes and body parts. I hired a guy I found online who made these awesome digital videos. They’re sort of imaginary manga characters that will be wearing the collection that we’re showing in Milan in January, and then you can play with them and put on the knits or chop and swap them out. They have no gender.
Is it fun?
I have the feeling that as a creative director you now have to think about communication in all different media. You can’t just sit in your office and say, “Well, what should we do?” You have to participate. The curiosity level has to be really high otherwise you risk becoming an old fashion designer sitting in the office. It is one of the most fascinating parts of the period in which we live.
This conversation has been edited and truncated. It appeared as part of the Instagram Live series On the Runway.