French fashion house Dior is the latest luxury brand to embrace blockchain, announcing a new line of men’s footwear late Thursday that features both a unique, encrypted online authentication system and accompanying “digital twin” NFTs. 

The shoe, the B33 sneaker, was designed by Dior Menswear artistic director Kim Jones as part of the fashion house’s Men’s Fall 2023 collection. The first of seven styles of the sneaker—which combines mohair with the fashion house’s signature Dior Oblique pattern—will be released online exclusively on July 6 in a limited run of only 470 pairs.

Each shoe pair will be linked to what Dior is calling a digital twin—a corresponding, matching NFT of the shoes minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Each shoe pair will cost $1,350. 

Shortly after the release of these exclusive, NFT-matched sneakers, Dior will release six more styles of the B33. Those styles will also feature an NFC chip placed under the sole of the right foot, but won't come with a digital twin NFT.

The NFC chip will be associated with an encrypted key that leads holders to what Dior describes as a personalized, secure online platform that offers digital certificates of authenticity for each shoe owner, as well as other dedicated services that have yet to be revealed. These pairs will range in price from $1,000 to $1,100.

The 470-piece series of NFT-matched B33 sneakers. Courtesy: Dior

The move by Dior to embrace blockchain-backed elements is not necessarily a surprise given the recent Web3-related enthusiasm of the fashion house’s parent company, LVMH.

Numerous LVMH-owned brands, including French cognac Hennessy, watchmaker TAG Heuer, and luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, have introduced programs and product lines that avidly tie in blockchain-based features. 

One of the six additional B33 styles to be released after the limited-run, NFT-matched style goes on sale July 6. Courtesy: Dior

What is distinct about Dior’s announcement, however, is its notable avoidance of any blockchain-related terminology. The words “Web3” and “NFT,” prominently featured in the promotional materials of past LVMH-orchestrated, blockchain-backed activations, have thus far not been used by Dior in its promotional rollout of the B33 sneaker line. 

That may well be no accident. Even as blockchain-related capabilities become increasingly attractive to (and mainstream for) household brands, the baggage associated with terms like Web3, crypto, and the metaverse has increasingly become best avoided for many. 

Decrypt reached out to Dior but did not immediately receive a response to a request for comment on this story.

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