Dior has become the latest luxury fashion brand to introduce a product that uses NFC to link a customer’s physical fashion item to a digital twin.

An initial numbered and limited edition version of 470 pairs of the new B33 sneakers will drop on 6 July 2023. They will then be followed “soon after” by seven additional versions of the sneaker, each featuring their own unique colourway.

Each pair “includes an encrypted key that leads to a personal, secure platform offering dedicated services”, the luxury brand says.

“Within this space, everyone can access the shoes’ certificate of authenticity, additional information on the different stages of the manufacturing process, and even announcements for future sneaker launches.”

Last month Fila announced it was partnering with Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) to launch an NFC-equipped jersey for esports fans and Adidas linked NFTs to physical sneakers with NFC hang tags. In April, Hugo Boss revealed it was adding NFC tags to baseball caps that enabled purchasers to create NFT digital twins.

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