Megan Kaspar, the co-founder and managing director of FirstLight, is well known as a savvy investor and trailblazer within the digital style realm. In October 2021, she made headlines as the primary particular person to showcase NFT clothes throughout a video interview. Kaspar’s pioneering spirit additionally earned her a function in Haute Living’s Miami issue sporting a digital ensemble by luxurious style model Fendi.
Kaspar has been a crypto fanatic from the start and is now a founding member of Red DAO, a corporation targeted on style and blockchain. She is a constant investor in main tasks like DressX, supporting the intersection of style 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 lately sat down with Kaspar to debate her technique when investing in digital style and her ideas on the way forward for the house.
nft now: What’s your funding thesis or strategy behind digital style?
Megan Kaspar: Tokenization of the world’s property is going on 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 instances. If your complete world’s inhabitants shared the approach to life habits of in the present day’s common American, we’d require the equal of 5 Earths to accommodate us. Millennials, Gen Zs, and Gen Alphas are massively contributing to the constructive shift to dematerialization, spending extra money and time in digital actuality.
The second is effectivity. We’re higher in a position to leverage shopper information via profiles, searching historical past, deserted carts, purchases, and returns. Subsequently we are able to promote the precise merchandise on the good time on the best channel. We’re going in direction of a mannequin of no extra over-manufacturing. Utilizing AI to raised perceive information would permit [marketing] to be extra environment friendly, particularly via extra particular devoted channels, like a pockets.
Third is personalization. Shoppers have gotten extra individualized, and so they need to be seen. There may be an upward development 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 need to specific themselves in a hyper-personalized method. Platforms just like the Mindbody app allow you to hyper-personalize your gender. You may hyper-define and present in methods which you can not articulate or specific bodily.
Lastly, disruptive enterprise fashions. Information is the brand new oil. Web2 is marked with a buyer/shopper mannequin the place you might be restricted within the visibility of all the things you personal. Web3 is an proprietor mannequin the place you personal your property, information, and data and may translate right into a wear2earn economic system. The web2 shopper is shifting to a Web3 proprietor.
nft now: What do you envision the position of digital style within the subsequent cycle? What is going to it take for digital style to go mainstream?
MK: Capitalizing on early narratives is the best solution to make 100x in crypto. Sensible property (real-world property on chain) are considered one of 5 rising tendencies I’m paying probably the most consideration to, and the digital style sector will play a big position within the subsequent innovation wave of Web3.
nft now: What’s the imaginative and prescient and mission for Crimson DAO? What do you could have developing?
MK: Crimson DAO is the world’s first digital style, blockchain-agnostic-focused DAO. The targets of Crimson DAO are to take part and put money into the emergent narrative and alternatives round style and attire tendencies shifting in direction of dematerialization into digital metaverse wearables powered by blockchain know-how.
So we make investments and incubate in all verticals of blockchain digital style together with supporting, buying, gathering, archiving, and investing in digital NFT clothes within the rising world of digital wearables and style. Notably, Crimson DAO collected three of the 9 gadgets 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 so far is the very best valued couture style NFT to exist.
nft now: In the long run, to what extent will digital must be accompanied by bodily?
MK: Full {hardware} disruption is a key think about 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 style and gaming?
MK: In web2 gaming, you don’t personal the merchandise; there is no such thing as a utility past aesthetics. In Web3 gaming, you personal the merchandise, and there are a number of utility fashions equivalent to rental, stake for rewards, and play2earn.
I have a look at all the things via the lens of every technology and the evolution of know-how ({hardware} and software program; foundational habits and perception techniques programmed into the collective of every technology).
Millennials are the bridge between Gen Z and Gen Alpha, rising up with gadgets of their hand, instant 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 once we would see blockchain know-how disrupt the style trade by providing new enterprise fashions and monetization layers. {Hardware} system disruption is the important thing issue to a completely decentralized digital actuality. Heads-down cellular smartphone to heads-up near-eye wearable and a number of wearables.
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