“The role of NFTS is to make virtual assets interoperable from one world to another.»Nicolas Romero, Futures Factory

Interview

Posted on by Eric Brones

How to set up sneakers in both the physical and virtual world?What could be the future of NFT Sneakers?Decryption with Nicolas Romero, co-founder of the Marketplace Futures Factory.

Luxury Journal

After works of art, luxury sees the emergence of nft sneakers.How do you explain this phenomenon?

Nicolas Romero

NFTS have always been allied with virtual assets but they can be associated with physical products.Whether it is one or the other, the blockchain is a technology that allows you to check, own, authenticate and trace products.Digital Fashion is propelled by social networks and virtual spaces that begin to really develop with augmented reality, VR, ever more efficient graphic engines...The NFTS allow their owners to wear their sneakers both in the real world and in what is called the metaverse which designates the different virtual spaces where we can exchange, have fun, meet people.The role of NFTS is to make virtual assets interoperable from one world to another.

On the cultural level, there are a lot of similarities between the world of sneakers and crypto: rarity, peer -to -peer transactions, communication, collaboration.It is not surprising that the two universes are starting to sparks!There has always been an audience niche lover of Kicks concept, these sneakers with so crazy design that it seems not very conceivable for a brand to go into production.Thanks to the NFTS, a designer will be able to create a 3D pair, allow fans of his community to acquire his virtual sneakers, collect them, exchange them or wear them in augmented reality or an avatar in a video game.As with the arrival of the MP3 format, the NFT will allow artists and companies to imagine new economic models, new interactions and new experiences.

Luxury Journal

What is the concept of future factory?You raised 2.$ 5 million: what were your key arguments?

Nicolas Romero

Futures Factory is a community of designers and a marketplace of sneakers nft.There will be two types of products on the platform: 100% virtual sneakers and "future" sneakers that will be virtual but also available in physical format.We have gathered a collective of designers, brands and enthusiasts who understood that there was an opportunity in rethinking the way we create sneakers, distributes them, collects them.Futures Factory will not only be a sales and exchange platform: we have understood that the priority for the community is to have a place to discover, communicate and collaborate.Social features will be very important on FF.We have been working in this environment for a few years: I created Satoshi Studio, the first brand of sneakers to use NFTS since 2018, and Alexandre Frih is the initiator of the blockchain will have at LVMH.

Our main arguments are that the decentralized web is a huge opportunity for the creative industry and that we are well placed to create an infrastructure, with the right tools to support designers and brands.We do not have an answer to everything but we have managed to constitute a beautiful community of designers and brands, with whom we can build the project.

Luxury Journal

The singularity of Futures Factory is to offer the best of the two worlds, Digital and IRL.How do you do it?

Nicolas Romero

An NFT acts as a certificate of property and authenticity which gives access to services, experiences and cases of use in the real and virtual world.In a few years, it will be possible for a consumer to buy their pair in store or on future factory and carry their digital twin on a video game or a social network.For the virtual, we are already working with excellent designers from the biggest brands.Some are dying to participate on their behalf but know that their employer will be reluctant.We will therefore offer them the opportunity to take part in the project as "Ghost Designer".We also want to organize competitions and workshops to offer an opportunity to learn and build an audience for the youngest designers.For the real, we will allow brands that already have an infrastructure to collaborate with talented designers, to offer a different experience of traditional e-commerce which is often purely transactional, to connect differently to their community.The interactions that NFT will offer between individuals and brands will be numerous.

Luxury Journal

How is the valuation of NFT Sneakers?How do you see the future of NFT sneakers?Will we see new uses appear?

Nicolas Romero

Difficult to speak of valuation of nft sneakers in general because the market is very young and completely unbridled...Ultimately, everything will depend on the brand or the designer, as in the real world.We sometimes see incredible prices but, with the rapid adoption of these new technologies and the change of operation of certain blockchains, it could be more affordable.I hope so, anyway.

A few weeks ago, at an Ethereum conference, we sold two pairs of Satoshi Studio sneakers at more than 70.000 dollars in favor of an NGO which preserves biodiversity and animals in Borneo.I fell from my chair, it was the best sales of the evening and by far!Unlike the very closed world of Stars designers of collaborations and collectibles that work with Nike or Adidas, the new virtual sneakers market will allow more partnerships and opportunities for less known but just as talented designers.This is also how many young designers make a place for themselves by creating 3D kick concepts with a universe, a own identity.It is certain that we will see new uses appear, whether on how to create, on customer relations, financing, distribution and consumption.

Luxury Journal

Is craftsmanship compatible with the world of NFT?

Nicolas Romero

As said before, you can very well associate a physical product with an NFT.An artisanal product is defined as a product made as a unique or small series and brings into play the know-how of one or more craftsmen.If we follow this definition, a digital work linked to an NFT checks all the boxes.Today, the NFTS have propelled a whole class of digital artists, 3D designers, motion designers, AR/VR Developers, etc..

We do not do all the work behind certain digital works.Alexandre, who has long worked at Louis Vuitton, often says that for a luxury brand to be consistent and authentic, it must be as demanding on the manufacture of a physical product as a digital product.The Renaissance period was the zenith of creativity, art and expression.Today, we are talking about "digital renaissance" with the emergence of means of financing, support for artists, infrastructure and collaboration tools for creators.These are not my words but those of Paula Findlen, a professor of Stanford specializing in art history.

By Eric Brones

Interview - Business