‘Genies’ launch virtual fashion store

Digital avatar startup Genies has launched its much awaited NFT fashion store. The Los Angeles-based company is known for its high-profile partnerships with pop-stars Justin Bieber, Cardi B and Migos.

The company partnered with Dapper Labs, creators of NBA Top Shot NFTs, to develop “The Warehouse”, which was launched in a beta-phase to invite-only customers back in December. Genies is collaborating with various creators from the fashion industry to design their collections for the store.

“The Warehouse’” is now open to the public on the Genies Studio app, where users can create their virtual avatars and dress them up using digital fashion items available on the store. Users can also personalize the items they purchased by leveraging the customizing options available on the app, and sell it on ‘The Warehouse’..

“Creators will be selling their own avatar fashion, and the ones that they’ve customized over the past couple of months. And when they do sell out – let’s say someone sells like 100 items, and let’s say that if a fan or follower or anybody within the community decided to buy it for their own avatar, they also now have the rights to be able to edit it or DIY it within the studio platform, so they can use the tools and create a derivative collection, and then sell the derivative fashion line in ‘The Warehouse’,” said Genies CEO and founder Akash Nigam.

NFT creators will own the intellectual property (IP) of their designs and every time the item is sold on “The Warehouse”, designers will get a portion of the revenue. According to Nigam, Genies charges only a 5% fee on every transaction, allowing owners to keep the majority of the revenue they generate.

“I think a lot of creators understand that they’re contributing so much back to all these different platforms, but they’re not reaping nearly enough of the benefits.”

Despite the current NFT market conditions, Akash is optimistic about the digital asset market and believes there will be a long-term demand for NFT avatars into the future and likens their significance to mobile apps.

“The reason why I think avatar ecosystems are going to be the mobile apps of Web3 is because you see two massive consumer trends currently being perpetuated. There’s one trend, which is the virtual trend where everybody wants to exist in a 3D spatial world. The second is that avatars allow people to have ownership and individuality within a digital world,” added the CEO.

Currently only platform-approved sellers can launch their collections on “The Warehouse”. Genies plans to allow all its users to create unique NFT fashion items.

In 2020, the company collaborated with luxury fashion brand Gucci to help customers try out virtual fashion designs and purchase curated NFTs. In April, Genies raised $150 million in a Series C funding round, earning a $1 billion valuation from tech investors including Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital and Silver Lake.