MNTGE cofounder Sean Wotherspoon with a ’70s denim jacket from his vintage archive.
MNTGE announced itself in December as a digital wearables brand built around vintage clothing founded by Sean Wotherspoon, Nick Adler and Brennan Russo.
They sold 1600 mint passes on the basis of the concept alone and have since been hosting Twitter spaces with fashion and web3 industry folks including Beeple, Ian Rogers, Gordon Goner, Gucci’s Robert Triefus and adidas’ Jon Wexler.
Tomorrow February 7 at 4p.m. EST marks the launch of their first collection.
A special edition, digital 3D MNTGE trunk contains two digital wearables NFTs — one of four digital vintage pieces curated by Wotherspoon from his archive, and one of three proprietary ink bottles he’s designed.
From there, it’s all up to the holder to decide what to do. They can opt either to keep both items as is or after a period of time, they can press them into a totally new, and much rarer, NFT — a dynamic version of the original garment combined with a nature-inspired animation. Either which way the digital wearables can eventually be worn by avatars in a range of metaverse games and ecosystems.
“We wanted people to put their spin on it,” says Wotherspoon, comparing the customization aspect to the sneakers he designs — often with brands such as adidas. “When you buy my shoes, that’s not the end of the road. It’s the beginning of the journey because there is always something more for you to discover.”
“The ability to transform an NFT and hold a certain level of customization in your hands as the consumer, is huge,” he said via email.
A MNTGE digital rendering of a vintage denim jacket from Sean Wotherspoon’s collection.
Customization with or without an additional element of jeopardy is a growing trend in the digital fashion and NFT space.
In November, owners of the adidas Originals: Capsule NFT Collection )which dropped in May) could either choose to ‘burn’ their capsule — and switch it for a piece from the brand’s recently launched Virtual Gear collection — or hold it and wait for the next phase. Adidas has also released a PFP dressing tool enabling the Virtual Gear collection to be worn by PFP avatars from compatible partner collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Back view of the MNTGE vintage denim jacket.
In similar vein Ready Player Me has just launched a new AI powered avatar creator which allows users to pimp their outfits with different textures and patterns generated by an AI response to their written prompts — like star print or velvet.
“We are definitely seeing a shift, and even before the shift over a year ago, this is the way we were thinking while developing MNTGE,” Wotherspoon said. “I love the idea of ‘gamification’ and ‘customization’ coming together because it allows for a unique environment. Simply put, it’s fun and engaging.” That’s why, he maintains, it’s so appealing to web3 users.
A total of 3,100 trunks will be available — 1,600 going to MNTGE passholders. Of the four garments and three inks, some will be rarer than others. As for the combined NFTs, their rarity will be dictated entirely by the holders depending on how many choose to press the two together.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniehirschmiller/2023/02/06/sean-wotherspoons-mntge-drops-first-collection-of-vintage-digital-wearables-with-an-exciting-twist/