Yuga Labs, the company behind the NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club, has joined forces with luxury fashion house Gucci to introduce Otherside-themed jewelry with unique digital perks. The collaboration aims to blur the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds, catering to the metaverse-oriented market. The limited-edition series, Otherside: Relics by Gucci, will include physical Gucci products and associated NFTs that will be tied to the Otherside metaverse game. The first “Relic” to be released via Yuga’s collaboration with Gucci will be the KodaPendant, an NFT representing both a physical piece of jewelry and a non-fungible token. The KodaPendant will unlock numerous perks within the Otherside metaverse and will be available for sale to Koda or Vessel NFT holders only.
The KodaPendant NFT will come with a unique silver Gucci necklace and unlock unique cosmetic options for Otherside avatars, which are set to launch this summer. Holders of KodaPendants will also be able to claim a real, physical piece of jewelry from Gucci later this year. The physical pendants will be inscribed with a unique edition number on the back and will be made available via mail to residents of select countries, including the United States, Canada, most European nations, and a select number of Gulf states.
This collaboration marks another instance where high-profile NFT companies have partnered with luxury fashion brands to create rarified physical goods tied to digital ownership. The limited edition NFT-backed series of 250 gold, ruby, and diamond necklaces modeled in the likeness of purchasers’ unique CryptoPunk NFT avatars, which were created in collaboration with luxury jeweler Tiffany’s last year, is a prime example of this trend. The necklaces sold out instantly and skyrocketed Cryptopunk trading volume in the process.
