Fashion brands are embracing technology to enhance product authenticity and traceability.
- Leading luxury names Marni, Maison Margiela, and Jil Sander will introduce NFC chips for digital certificates from Autumn/Winter 2024.
- The initiative is part of OTB’s effort to register 1.5 million luxury items on the Aura blockchain.
- The Aura platform, developed by LVMH, Microsoft, and ConsenSys, promotes transparency and traceability.
- OTB’s CEO highlights this technological advance as pivotal for brand transparency and future readiness.
Luxury fashion is integrating digital technology to ensure authenticity and traceability. Marni, Maison Margiela, and Jil Sander are at the forefront, planning to incorporate Near Field Communication (NFC) chips into their products starting with the Autumn/Winter 2024 collections. These chips will allow consumers to verify the authenticity of items effortlessly with their smartphones, providing a detailed origin story for each product.
This novel venture is spearheaded by OTB, the Italian parent company, who is set to enhance the validation process for 1.5 million luxury products. The company’s strategic move is aligned with the capabilities of the Aura blockchain, a system established by LVMH in collaboration with Microsoft and ConsenSys in 2019. Aura serves as a blockchain consortium dedicated to the verification and certification of luxury items, aiming to safeguard brand value by ensuring product authenticity and customer assurance.
OTB, a prominent entity owning brands such as Diesel and Viktor & Rolf, joined The Aura Blockchain Consortium as a founding member in 2021. This consortium includes industry giants like Prada Group and Richemont, all committed to employing blockchain technology to improve transparency and traceability.
The initiative has already seen success, with OTB registering approximately 1.2 million products with NFC chips on the platform since early 2022. The latest inclusion of Marni, Maison Margiela, and Jil Sander signifies further integration into this digital ecosystem, strengthening consumer confidence in their luxury purchases.
Stefano Rosso, CEO of Marni, emphasized the significance of this innovation, stating, “This is an important advance in the OTB innovation process, because it enables us to guarantee greater transparency, new ways of interaction and an increasingly high-profile experience for our luxury brands’ clients.” The application of blockchain technology within their operational framework promises efficient adaptation to evolving market and legislative demands, reinforcing the brand’s forward-thinking approach.
The adoption of NFC and blockchain technology by these fashion brands marks a significant step toward enhanced transparency and authenticity in the luxury market.
