Maison Margiela takes ‘big step’ towards Web3 with MetaTABI Experience

Parisian haute couture house Maison Margiela is bringing together the physical and digital worlds with its new MetaTABI collection, an NFT that combines token-gated product experiences with the brand’s iconic split-toe shoe.

The launch, in collaboration with digital fashion house The Fabricant, is “figuratively speaking a huge step,” said Stefano Rosso, chairman of Maison Margiela, during a livestream with Rug Radio creator Stephy Fung.

Using the brand’s Tabi shoe for the first step in Web3 was, Rosso said, “so special in so many ways: the symbol of our Maison coupled with a unique footprint in this amazing new environment that is changing people’s lives while we speak.”

MetaTABI consists of two different editions, 15 Tier 1 NFTs in white and 1,500 Tier 2 NFTs in black. Tier 2 holders will receive a custom leather wallet containing the printed crypto wallet, explains The Fabricant founder Adriana Hoppenbrouwer.

Tier 1 holders, meanwhile, will receive a limited edition pair of handmade physical Tabi boots. “Only fifteen people in the world will have these boots, and they cannot be found anywhere else,” Hoppenbrouwer said. Those Tabi boots have a unique hand-painted gold finish, Rosso said, adding, “It’s a unique treatment, which has never been done to our shoes or our goods.”

In addition to the physical products, MetaTABI owners also get access to virtual products on AR and metaverse platforms, including The Sandbox and Ready Player Me. “The idea with digital boots is the same as with physical boots: you get to choose where you want to wear them,” says Kerry Murphy, founder of The Fabricant.

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The Tier 2 custom wallet. Image: Maison Margiela x The Fabricant

Maison Margiela has explored the Web3 space in a past tense; last year it launched a blockchain game in which participants competed to mint 24 token-linked digits.

Billed as “the foundation of Maison Margiela’s future Web3 community,” the game’s tokens gave holders access to the MetaTABI presale before the public coinage went live, Hoppenbrouwer explained. “The presale is for The Fabricant holders, for the people who played the Maison Margiela game, and for the very lucky people from our presale raffle partner communities,” she said.

Both MetaTABI editions offer priority access to Maison Margiela’s upcoming Web3 projects via an NFT Mint Pass, ranging from virtual experiences such as exclusive programming and gaming activations to collaborative Web3 partnerships. “A MetaTABI is actually a membership token, you could say, a new VIP program for Maison Margiela,” said Hoppenbrouwer.

“Imagine how exclusive Margiela events really are,” Murphy said. “Through this token you essentially get lifetime access. And this is one of the things I see the most value in right now, because those physical events are so sought after.”

Through the virtual events powered by the MetaTABI NFT, Murphy said, “more people will have access” to the Maison Margiela experience. “Through the token you get all these different benefits, so-called utilities, whether they are physical or virtual. It’s about creating more value than one physical item can provide on its own,” he says.

MetaTABI owners who become part of Maison Margiela’s fan base “don’t just get a physical product,” Rosso said. “It will have access to the brand in so many other ways in the future. So for us this is really just the beginning of a journey.”