Rtfkt, Ledger Dish on Bringing Fashion to Blockchain Security
While Milan stirs with fashion week and the catwalks of Paris prepare for Monday’s opening, it is easy to forget that there are other events. But they do, and some offer a different kind of lens on where fashion might go next.
It is certainly not lost on Paris. Because although next week may belong to the physical collections, the blockchain and all things digital collectibles were hot topics on Friday, thanks to NFT Paris, a technology and culture conference that has become a magnet for artists, investors, enthusiasts and brands, such as Rtfkt and Ledger.
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Rtfkt, a Web 3.0 brand best known as the digital sneaker boyfriend acquired by Nike in 2021, joined the blockchain security company to announce a new partnership, a limited-edition capsule collection of devices and products, and a new mission to educate the Rtfkt community and others about protecting their blockchain assets.
The education is important, because as every cybersecurity expert in the world knows, no technology offers 100 percent foolproof protection—not even the blockchain. Rtfkt’s Nikhil Gopalani knows it first hand. In January, the COO revealed that a phishing attack ransacked his wallet and made off with more than $173,000 in NFTs. Phishing is basically an online trick aimed at tricking victims into giving up key information, such as logins, using fake links or other tactics, and it’s easy to miss. Such attacks point to a fundamental truth about cyber security: The biggest vulnerability is often human behavior. People cannot stop being human. But they can learn to identify threats and about solutions designed to help. The challenge is to make all that convincing, even attractive.
Get into fashion and design. For Ledger, it’s a perfect fit, because fashion really “gets” the space.
“[One brand] told us that the link between NFTs and luxury was very natural, because both were about creativity, scarcity and community. I think that resonates with most brands, says Sébastien Badault, vice president of metaverse at Ledger, to WWD. It’s an informed perspective: The company has worked with partners like Fendi, OPI and Farfetch, and Badault himself comes from places like Google, Amazon and Alibaba.
“They really feel this incredible new way of interacting with the community of fans or the community of users or potential buyers,” he said. With social media and other platforms, there is always an intermediary between the brand and the consumers, “whereas here I think what really resonates is this idea of having a direct line to the users and fans. And if they’re going to do that, if they’re going to strengthen these communities, they have to make sure that they secure them. And that’s where we play a role.”
Here, the connection between fashion and technology is evident in the redesign of Ledger’s flagship Nano, a compact device that looks like a USB memory stick. The partners recreated the device with simple minimalism in mind, casting two versions – the Nano S Plus and the more powerful Nano X – in white metal. Looking at the design, it is literally a clean slate.
But that simplicity belies the complex, technical powerhouse inside. Nano can hold private keys, send and receive cryptocurrency and much more, and because it keeps the data local, it is isolated from external hacking attempts. It is only one of several layers of security. Another is that it requires a physical button press to act, which would deter malicious online actors. It even houses a processor, like a computer, that can calculate the security keys that protect the owner’s bitcoin or other assets.
It’s tempting to think of the little gadget as a key, as it unlocks virtual goods and experiences, but Ledger describes it as a hardware blockchain wallet, as a place to store information and IDs (or authentication). In reality, it’s probably both: Imagine holding a key, stuffing it into a wallet packed with other keys, then putting the billfold into a high-security vault and activating lasers all around the building, which is surrounded by a moat.
All that security is necessary because once cryptocurrency, designer NFT clothing, or digital couture artwork is stolen, there is no way to get it back. In the future, the effort could grow, as shopping history, financial data, medical information, academic records, driver’s licenses and more go to the blockchain.
Ledger claims this is what the Nanos were built to prevent.
Ian Rogers, Ledger’s CEO, said blockchain’s ubiquity looks like an inevitability. Take retail, for example, where “token-gated commerce is on the rise [and] Shopify just announced token-gated capabilities for its platforms,” he pointed out. From there it looks like a fairly straight course.
“The reality is that all of our digital value will be tokenized in the near future,” Rogers added, and he sees a central role for Ledger in enabling, and then securing, it. It’s actually the company’s sweet spot. If everything is tied to the blockchain, everyone must carry tokens and keys at all times and in countless ways – such as kept in a pocket, worn on the wrist, hanging from a necklace, or hidden in custom-built clothing. The designs will then mean more than ever.
Now it is fashion’s sweet spot.
The Rtfkt collaboration is already diving into that premise with the new Nano and an exclusive cover accessory, like a set meant to be worn around the neck together.
According to the announcement, it’s a “super-rare silver pendant with the Rtfkt logo on the end pieces, which comes with a Nano X. With permission lists for Clone X and Genesis Pass holders, this more exclusive drop will be available at [Ledger] Market.” The cover design takes cues from a popular NFT vial Rtfkt previously offered. When opened, these virtual vials unleashed new styles, colors and designs onto their owners’ NFT shoes. Now this digital bottle has been manifested as a Nano -accessories.
However, as an exclusive, it is not available to everyone. Only owners of Rtfkt’s Clone X and Genesis NFTs can purchase the physical vial and Nano kit.
“It’s completely designed to be a flex,” said Rtfkt co-founder Benoit Pagotto. That’s not idle chatter, coming from an NFT brand that has proven time and time again that it knows what excites the community and how to deliver it in a way that drives demand.
Pagotto landed on fashion’s radar in 2021, when his digital sneaker NFT collaboration with artist Fewocious stunned the industry by pulling in more than $3 million. Within a year, Rtfkt went from a small two-man operation to a multi-million-dollar enterprise backed by Andreessen Horowitz to a Nike company and a key player in its parent company’s metaverse initiatives.
But Pagotto makes it clear that Rtfkt is still a brand with an indie spirit, and even under a major sneaker giant, it still enjoys autonomy. The partnership with Ledger is a good example. This relationship has evolved over time, but still allows room to pursue new ideas, without the micromanagement of a large company or the need to conform to retail conventions.
For example, anyone can buy other Nanos directly on Ledger’s e-commerce site, but not the Rtfkt x Ledger capsule collection. People will first purchase the associated NFT through the Ledger Market and redeem it for a physical Nano S Plus or Nano X, and only 10,000 units of each will be on offer. The exclusive Nano case-plus-Nano X set will be even rarer, with availability limited to certain Rftkt NFT holders. That’s just for starters. More products, experiences and opportunities will follow at a later date, the partners promised.
On the surface, the security company and the digital sneaker studio appear to reside at different ends of the blockchain. But where they overlap is in their priority on fashion, design and commerce. Ledger operates its own marketplace and offers other services and devices, including the touchscreen-enabled Nano Stax, a larger version created by Tony Fadell, the acclaimed designer behind Apple’s legendary iPod.
Rtfkt’s design credentials speak for themselves, but so does its ability to build community. Such skills have never been more valuable to the fashion sector, and smart companies should watch how such crypto-native brands and others circulate in gaming, metaverse and NFT platforms. There are important lessons to be learned there, with elements that may come to define how social works in Web 3.0.
Caring for these communities will only become more important as blockchain adoption grows, so Rtfkt and Ledger are making technology, safety and security education an ongoing part of their partnership. Future collaborations, they said, will bring experiences aimed at sharing and distributing knowledge through “Rtfkt Quests.” Ledger established its own “Ledger Quests”, which reward the NFT learning process by awarding crypto. These and other initiatives will offer a variety of information, from basic cryptography to blockchain safety and security, with the goal of demystifying the technology and even making the learning process fun.
It remains to be seen if they can do it. Making blockchain education and security sexy is a tall order. Then again, if two companies passionate about community, fashion and technology can’t do it, it’s hard to imagine who could.
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