As the metaverse keeps making new chances for brands and industries, it gives fashion designers a new place to work. Also, metaverse platforms have the potential to change the way people shop online by giving them a new way to interact with brands. As a report, from 2021 to 2026, the metaverse in fashion market share will grow to $6.61 billion. Companies like ChainGuardians are making it easier for people to buy clothes and try them on with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
Emma Liu, cofounder of ChainGuardians, wants to use blockchain’s power to its fullest by making experiences that combine Web3, NFT, and metaverse utilities in new and creative ways.The company is changing the way entertainment, media, art, and fashion are usually done. Liu and her team are working on ways to break through the technological and philosophical barriers of the real world in order to bring the Web3 metaverse’s future business economies to the real world. Major investors, such as AU21 Capital, GenBlock Capital, and SkyVision Capital, are behind the company.
ChainGuardians has also recently agreed to give $1 million to entrepreneurs who want to get into the Web3 space.Through the Guardians Phygital Grant program, entrepreneurs can move into the Web3 space by getting education, guidance, connections, and initial funding.The Program also helps them test their business ideas in different parts of the metaverse, like the ChainGuardians’ blockchain-powered metaverse, the Cryptoverse.
“We saw a great alignment of combining the fashion, plus some digital experiences as part of our metaverse strategy,” Liu states. “That’s where we started to say, ‘Why don’t we level up this initiative to do phygital with our original intent of just the brand awareness.’ So that’s why for the fashion event, we had the honor to actually attend to showcase not only our entire fashion line in the phygital line, the streetwear; we enhanced it with VR and AR experiences… So seeing our brand IP, not only just walk them on the fashion runway, but also, at the same time, able to have digital experiences to showcase this is the potential of the future where digital models and also digital fashion enhance the Web3 shopping experiences that’s coming in the near future.”
Liu’s first job was as a financial analyst in the banking business. After a long time, she got bored and looked for other things to do. A former coworker reached out to her and asked if she would like to help the Canadian government set up different accounting software projects. Liu took a chance when he quit his steady job to become a consultant.
Liu felt like something was still missing, so she decided to start her own business. During that time, she decided to start ChainGuardians with her brother Idon Liu, Robbie Cochrane, and another friend. With her background in project management, her partners knew she would be able to build and grow the idea of a player-driven platform that combines traditional gaming ideas with blockchain technologies.
“When we first started looking at combining the fashion into the NFT, we looked at what actually would be meaningful or something that would make the fashion world different,” she explains. “There’s a new way to monetize in the fashion world, especially the NFT can protect against counterfraud and also proof of ownership… What it means to hold an NFT is that you hold ownership of digital assets. Then that digital asset also comes with a physical asset, the real fashion piece we showcase. But at the same time, digital assets can give you different VR and AR experiences or even give you different metaverse experiences; you can see the avatar wearing the same outfit you’ll be buying as a physical piece.”
ChainGuardians came out in 2018, making it possible for players to join the free-to-play NFT Mining platform and Role-Playing Game. Players can make money on each platform, turning their time and effort into real rewards. Also, to celebrate the company’s first appearance at New York Fashion Week, where it showed off its Phygital Meta Streetwear Collection, ChainGuardians will give the first two $50,000 business grants to businesses in the fashion and luxury industries.
Liu and her team took part in the Nolcha Showcases at New York Fashion Week in September. These shows included a Web3 experience, a chance to try on clothes and show the future of fashion.“The future of fashion is phygital,” Arthur Mandel, founder and host of the Nolcha Shows, states. “The virtual elements will promote sustainability and inclusion. Personal style and identities will be fully expressed and not limited to real-life formats. But there is no virtual without the physical—a person still needs to engage all five senses in order to experience something fully.”
As Liu’s career and Web3 continue to grow, she pays attention to the following important steps:
Use what you’ve learned in the past to help you move forward and succeed in what you’re doing now.
Try things out and see what works and what doesn’t. That’s the only way to figure out what to keep doing and what to stop.
Turn your fear into something good that will make you want to go after what you want.
“I’m a fearless lady,” Liu concludes. “I’m not afraid to go after what I want. I always ask for what’s best for my company; to achieve the dream by not being afraid to push forward, push the boundaries.”
Leave this field empty if you're human:
