New ownership, new world.
Days after being acquired by Puig in May, Byredo has revealed plans to dive into the metaverse. The fragrance brand is collaborating with RTFKT on “Alphameta,” an initiative aimed at “building the scent of the metaverse,” Byredo said in a statement.
The project, in its early stages, is among the first from a fragrance brand in the space.
With the new terrain comes a new set of tools. The name comes from the creation of a new vocabulary in the metaverse, which includes 26 “elements,” of which limited quantities are produced and users can modify their avatar with. They will appear as wearable “auras,” Byredo said.
“I liked the idea of dissecting it down to raw materials. A single scent is incapable of representing this virtual world, so we formulated a lexicon of elements that collectors can combine at will to make something entirely unique,” said Ben Gorham, Byredo’s founder and creative director, in the statement.
Each of the elements represents different human emotions, including acuity, harmony, naivety and virtue. It follows a similar thread to Byredo’s makeup line, which intended to evoke a spectrum of emotions through color.
Byredo will also offer 2,000 customized scents, based on preferred elements by consumers. The collectors will then watch a virtual demonstration of how Byredo crafts its scents.
Gorham specializes in out-of-the-box collaborations, having previously teamed with Ikea, Travis Scott and makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench. It is that boundary-pushing spirit that attracted Puig, which acquired a majority stake in the brand in May.
“[Byredo] perfectly reinforces Puig’s purpose of empowering people’s self expression,” said Marc Puig, chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement at that time. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Other beauty brands that have played in the metaverse include Estée Lauder, Clinique, Charlotte Tilbury and others.
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