Megan Kaspar, the co-founder and managing director of FirstLight, is well known as a savvy investor and trailblazer within the digital vogue realm. In October 2021, she made headlines as the primary individual to showcase NFT clothes throughout a video interview. Kaspar’s pioneering spirit additionally earned her a characteristic in Haute Dwelling’s Miami challenge carrying a digital ensemble by luxurious vogue model Fendi.
Kaspar has been a crypto fanatic from the start and is now a founding member of Pink DAO, a company targeted on vogue and blockchain. She is a constant investor in main tasks like DressX, supporting the intersection of vogue and know-how. Kaspar is tirelessly advocating for the potential of the rising motion and is dedicated to educating others about its prospects.
As a 2023 NFT100 honoree, nft now not too long ago sat down with Kaspar to debate her technique when investing in digital vogue and her ideas on the way forward for the house.
nft now: What’s your funding thesis or strategy behind digital vogue?
Megan Kaspar: Tokenization of the world’s property is occurring over the subsequent twenty years. There are 4 use instances which can be the north star of how I have a look at the chance — not particularly how I make investments, however the overarching theme.
The primary is sustainability. Since 1950, consumption of stuff has elevated 14 occasions. If your entire world’s inhabitants shared the approach to life habits of at this time’s common American, we might require the equal of 5 Earths to accommodate us. Millennials, Gen Zs, and Gen Alphas are massively contributing to the optimistic shift to dematerialization, spending extra money and time in digital actuality.Â
The second is effectivity. We’re higher in a position to leverage client information by profiles, searching historical past, deserted carts, purchases, and returns. Subsequently we are able to promote the best merchandise on the good time on the perfect channel. We’re going in the direction of a mannequin of no extra over-manufacturing. Utilizing AI to raised perceive information would permit [marketing] to be extra environment friendly, particularly by extra particular devoted channels, like a pockets.Â
Third is personalization. Shoppers have gotten extra individualized, and so they wish to be seen. There’s an upward pattern in micro collections. Clothes is being manufactured on-demand, which additionally contributes to no extra over-manufacturing. Gen Z and Gen Alpa’s identities are so rooted on-line; they wish to categorical themselves in a hyper-personalized manner. Platforms just like the Mindbody app can help you hyper-personalize your gender. You may hyper-define and present in methods you can not articulate or categorical bodily.
Lastly, disruptive enterprise fashions. Knowledge is the brand new oil. Web2 is marked with a buyer/client mannequin the place you’re restricted within the visibility of the whole lot you personal. Web3 is an proprietor mannequin the place you personal your property, information, and data and may translate right into a wear2earn financial system. The web2 client is shifting to a Web3 proprietor.Â
nft now: What do you envision the function of digital vogue within the subsequent cycle? What is going to it take for digital vogue to go mainstream?
MK: Capitalizing on early narratives is the best option to make 100x in crypto. Sensible property (real-world property on chain) are considered one of 5 rising tendencies I’m paying essentially the most consideration to, and the digital vogue sector will play a big function within the subsequent innovation wave of Web3.
nft now: What’s the imaginative and prescient and mission for Pink DAO? What do you will have developing?
MK: Pink DAO is the world’s first digital vogue, blockchain-agnostic-focused DAO. The objectives of Pink DAO are to take part and put money into the emergent narrative and alternatives round vogue and attire tendencies shifting in the direction of dematerialization into digital metaverse wearables powered by blockchain know-how.
So we make investments and incubate in all verticals of blockchain digital vogue together with supporting, buying, gathering, archiving, and investing in digital NFT clothes within the rising world of digital wearables and vogue. Notably, Pink DAO collected three of the 9 objects from Collezione Genesi, the world’s first couture luxurious NFT designer drop from Dolce & Gabbana, together with the spectacular, one-of-a-kind Doge Crown (bodily and digital), which thus far is the very best valued couture vogue NFT to exist.
nft now: In the long run, to what extent will digital have to be accompanied by bodily?
MK: Full {hardware} disruption is a key consider digital-first adoption, offering real-time perfected hyperrealism combined actuality AR. There shall be an evolution of possession from bodily solely to digital first.
nft now: How do you see the intersection of digital vogue and gaming?
MK: In web2 gaming, you don’t personal the merchandise; there isn’t a utility past aesthetics. In Web3 gaming, you personal the merchandise, and there are a number of utility fashions similar to rental, stake for rewards, and play2earn.Â
I have a look at the whole lot by the lens of every era and the evolution of know-how ({hardware} and software program; foundational habits and perception programs programmed into the collective of every era).Â
Millennials are the bridge between Gen Z and Gen Alpha, rising up with units of their hand, speedy on demand.
nft now: How are you personally and professionally getting ready for the metaverse?
MK: My journey within the blockchain ecosystem started in 2012, and since 2015 I’ve anticipated this second after we would see blockchain know-how disrupt the style business by providing new enterprise fashions and monetization layers. {Hardware} system disruption is the important thing issue to a completely decentralized digital actuality. Heads-down cell smartphone to heads-up near-eye wearable and a number of wearables.
Need extra NFT100 honoree interviews? Get the full record of everybody we spoke with right here.
