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Digital twins, which rose to the mainstream during the metaverse boom, are gaining new steam in the form of digital IDs, or product passports (DPPs), that store data including manufacturing details, supply chain origins, materials used and ownership history. It’s no longer a “nice to have” for fashion brands — it will soon become a requirement.
Starting as early as 2026, the European Commission will require brands selling in the EU to equip items like apparel, accessories and electronics with DPPs in order to make supply chains more transparent and enforce brands to meet their sustainability goals. Brands currently testing the technology are figuring out ways for it to collect customer data and add perks beyond the point of purchase.
This winter, Boss equipped ski jackets with the digital IDs that could access ski slopes and contactless payments. The RealReal partnered with Eon to eventually enable it to automatically ingest product details when listing consigned luxury goods. In the autumn, Balenciaga gave hoodies and tees their own exclusive soundtrack that could only be heard by physically tapping the garment. Coach’s Coachtopia products now come with a unique Eon-provided digital ID to access repair-and-restore services.
Once a digital identity is established for a product, brands can add information and features over time, so even though the specific requirements of DPPs aren’t yet known, brands have begun trialling how the tech can be used, beyond metaverse wearables or NFT collectibles. In this case, the physical product is the focus, offering new incentives to establish digital IDs.
The concept and methods of linking the digital identity with physical goods have generally stayed the same, such as through QR codes or NFC chips. The strategies are different, especially in comparison to recent digital-first products tested by Gucci, Adidas and Tiffany’s, says Raakhee Miller, CEO of Web3 platform Mojito. This physical-first approach “not only enhances the product’s value, but also deepens consumer engagement”.
The pivot in strategy also reflects a shift in metaverse approaches. Consumers crave something that is easier to use with more obvious benefits. The concept of “phygital” goods “was very much linked to the metaverse, and now we see [brands] coming back to use cases and services for the clients with something more anchored in client needs”, says Laura Escure, VP of brand partnerships at Vestiaire Collective, which teamed up with Chloé and Eon to enable “instant resale” via digital IDs. “It’s back to the basics. The barriers around Web3 were not helping consumers to think thoroughly about luxury.”
Usefulness drives data collection
During Austria’s ski competition, Hahnenkamm Races, Boss worked with Mastercard and wearable payment-tech provider Digiseq to develop a custom tag for its ski jackets that combined multiple contactless technologies and a web app for customers to tailor their experience. VIP guests who were gifted the jackets could tap the tag on its sleeve to access the event, the ski resort, the lifts and log in to a physical pop-up store, in addition to making contactless payments.
The core purpose of the project was to serve as a “proof of concept”, showing that new technologies can turn a jacket into a smart device and open up personalisation capabilities, says Dorothee Niebergall, SVP of group strategy, sustainability and innovation at parent company Hugo Boss. She says the brand was “very satisfied with the outcome” and that it received positive and enthusiastic reactions from the guests who tested them. “Consumers are open to new experiences, especially when they are easy to access, smooth and add value to their specific needs,” she says.
Brands are increasingly starved for customer data, as they adapt to new data-privacy rules and the removal of third-party cookies on web browsers that limit the data they can passively collect. When a customer proactively interacts with a DPP, either by logging in to a corresponding app or scanning a tag, the brand can gain insights into how they behave, what they prefer and where they are. The Boss pilot is a great example of this tech, says Matt Maher, CEO of luxury advisory M7 Innovations, because “it can turn the product into the platform. This is a silver bullet in a zero-party data strategy. Every time a client taps it, you’re not tracking them — they’re choosing to tap. And now your products are becoming both a communications channel for you and providing you with a new stream of data.”
Now that the tag and app tech are developed, Boss can extend the technology to other products, adding relevant features and perks based on customer feedback — and gathering data in the meantime. “We see the potential to sharpen the knowledge about our consumers’ preferences and to meet their needs around the clock with even more personalised and relevant services that go beyond just buying the physical product,” Niebergall says.
Digital ID as a “tech enabler” for resale
The benefit of a DPP for market resale is clear: buyers, sellers and platforms can each benefit from easily accessible product information that is often missing or hard to find in secondhand goods. If listing luxury goods for resale is easier for the customer, then they are more likely to participate, says The RealReal’s Noelle Sciacca, who leads strategic partnerships like the one with Eon. “There are still a lot of people who have a little complication in how they approach that.” She points to details such as the exact season and look number that can be pulled directly from the information the brand has added to its passport.
Digital identities are “the biggest tech enabler for the resale market, as the main blocker is the listing process”, Vestiaire’s Escure says. She estimates that to list an item on Vestiaire using a DPP takes about one minute; without one, it might take five. “The seamless listing process is quite satisfying.”
This tech can also help authenticate products, assisting brands to mitigate counterfeiting in the secondhand market, but Sciacca and Escure say that as counterfeiters tend to evolve as technology changes, human authenticators are still critical to this process.
Underutilised and emerging uses
All of the uses are still in early testing phases, and also among the early adopter brands. Tod’s recently gave its Di bags a DPP, through the Aura Blockchain Consortium, to provide ownership certificates and product insights, with future benefits planned, such as early access to special sales and events, maintenance services and a digital twin NFT. Tod’s general brand manager Carlo Alberto Beretta said that “this allows us to further enhance the relationship with our communities, enabling us to directly share the story behind our timeless products through the power of blockchain technologies,” in a release announcing the project. Similarly, Mugler, working with Arianee, is adding DPPs to all physical products, starting with its Spiral Curve 01 and 02 bags. IWC Schaffhausen’s new DPPs serve as proof of authenticity and ownership.
Romain Carrere, CEO of the Aura Blockchain Consortium, says that he sees DPPs as “much more than regulatory compliance”. “A blockchain-based DPP solution also elevates the customer experience, adding significant value to the entire luxury product life-cycle. We believe in a future where every customer feels connected to the story behind their products, and the DPP is the key to unlocking that narrative. It’s not just a digital passport, it’s a journey of trust and empowerment for every consumer.”
Maher advises that in order to take full advantage of the tech, brands should develop uses that encourage customers to continue to scan. He was one of the first buyers of the music-embedded Balenciaga products that provide access to exclusive music when customers physically scan the product — and they can’t share it. Maher found the user experience delightful, but not entirely practical in the long term, unless he is wearing the shirt. Recent projects such as the Dior B33 sneaker pilot and the Rimowa and Rtfkt collab, which gave access to digital twins and AR lenses, aren’t providing significant enough reasons to tap again, he says. At least, not yet. “99 per cent of brands that are using QR codes on a product are underutilising them.”
There is still time. Once a digital ID is attached, a brand can add features. Boss’s Niebergall says that the ski jacket is just the beginning, and that the company plans to look into increasing its smart-tech enabled products after conducting in-depth feedback interviews with early users. Similarly, The RealReal’s partnership with Eon is just “phase one,” says Sciacca. She sees potential to get creative with the IDs, such as using them to calculate insights related to a customer’s resale profile (similar to Spotify Wrapped), or to unlock gamification.
It’s still too soon to know how Chloé customers will take advantage of the digital IDs using Vestiaire, as it usually takes about two to three years for new seasons to hit resale, Escure says. Once the product is sold on the platform, then the ownership certificate will transfer to the new owner. For now, the hurdle has been on establishing the basic infrastructure. Escure says that while DPPs are a hot topic behind the scenes, people often underestimate how much work is needed to prepare, collect and organise the various required elements, even with something as basic as standardised colours and materials. She anticipates that once legislation is finalised, it will be easier to structure the market.
Brands will continue to shy away from experimental Web3 and metaverse elements until there’s more value in the digital twin, says Maher. “The learning curve is astronomical. Until all the Web3 wires are hidden, practical, practical, practical tech will win. Less is more.”
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