Smiley partners with Space Runners for digital-to-physical NFT launch

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 21, 2023

Lifestyle brand Smiley has linked up with fashion tech platform Space Runners to launch a collection of NFTs tied to physical products. It’s Smiley’s first move into NFTs and the Smiley World by Space Runners offer merges digital collectibles, AI technology and physical merchandise.

Debuting with Worlds this summer, Space Runners said it’s a long-term partnership that’s “set to revolutionise the licensing market and redefine the power of Web3 technology. By creating an immutable record of ownership for digital assets on the blockchain, these collaborations eliminate counterfeit NFTs, setting the precedent for other IP brands to follow”. 

The collaboration also “presents an opportunity for NFT owners to become partners in direct sales, events, and co-branded collections through artificial intelligence, providing a next-gen platform to collaborate with leading fashion brands and major fashion retailers”.

Importantly, customers have the option of paying for the assets using a regular payment card rather than crypto as was usual for earlier NFT iterations.

This approach of linking NFTs directly to real products and allowing more traditional payment methods is becoming increasingly common as brands and tech specialist work to make NFTs more mainstream and reflects the approach taken by Puma with its Black Station 2 launch this month.

The collection tells the story of 10 Smiley Worlds, which are threatened by a growing black hole. They unite to defeat the black hole and “life on the Smiley Worlds starts blooming again. To commemorate their triumph, the worlds decide to share and unlock their values and utilities in the form of NFTs, to help the community level up their own abilities and spread positivity to the galaxy”.

Each world in the collection features a different theme, including streetwear, gaming, music, and mental health.

And we’re told that reflects “a mission to create a community of positive thinkers who are committed to making the world a better place. By promoting positive messages through clothing, events, digital art and more, the collection encourages individuals to take action towards change, giving owners of Smiley Worlds a unique status symbol that represents their commitment to making a positive impact in the world — become the next level version of the blue checkmark on social media”.

Owners of Smiley Worlds will have exclusive access to upcoming drops, receive royalties from merchandise sales, be able to access multiple generative drops of upcoming NFTs inspired by their worlds, present plans for the usage of their NFT, and collaborate with the Space Runners team”.

Space Runners is the same company that linked up with Balmain earlier this year to create a collection of digital wearables and physical apparel with the collaboration being shown during Paris Fashion Week.