For collectors of the 8SIAN NFT series, part of its appeal has been in how it has advanced an Asian perspective of beauty to the greater world. This series of 8,888 NFTs which launched and sold out on Open Sea this year, has continually engaged its community through a roadmap which includes support for blockchain scholarships and for upcoming artists, real-life events, bespoke artwork, charity, digital wearables and community-led funds. A combination of the above elements were in place recently on the occasion of 8SIAN’s announcement of its participation at the Metaverse Fashion Week, hosted by Decentraland – a 3D virtual world that has gained fame for selling virtual plots of land – and Boson Protocol. Among the highlights of 8SIAN’s collaboration with leading Malaysian fashion and luxury brands such as Khoon Hooi, Rafflesia, Stoned & Co and Royal Selangor. The latter’s partnership also represents its first entry into the Web3 arena through a limited series of 100 pewter units modelled after the rare goddess-level 8SIAN Jade Lady, representing a one of one in the NFT collection.
The 8SIAN Jade Lady, a creation of Mr Hike the chief 8SIAN creator and co-founder of 8SIAN, is a tribute to the Asian-centric cultural references of the NFT collection. The artwork denotes a jade lady in a qiapao, backgrounded by a phoenix in the background. It is also listed as a Goddess level NFT, with a rarity value of 36 of 8,888. At the time of writing, it is currently owned by American business reality star Matt Higgins of Shark Tank fame, with its most recent sale price of 9.75 ETH.
For Royal Selangor, this connection to jade was a serendipitous one, as its founder Yong Koon – who started the company in 1885 – distinguished his work with the Jade Peace Pure Tin calling, or Yu He Zu Xi in Chinese. At the live event held in Leonardo’s Bangsar with a group of 8SIAN collectors, 8SIAN founder Nicole Yap welcomed guests and steamed the event live to other collectors, with the second live event scheduled to take place in New York City later on.
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Here, guests could see the Mara gown designed by Khoon Hooi and worn by Katy Perry and also the mould which will eventually become one of 100 limited edition 8SIAN Jade Lady pewter figurines, replicated from the NFT artwork. Each pewter 8SIAN Jade Lady, to be sold on the Metaverse Fashion Week, is priced at 2.0 ETH, with purchasers receiving a virtual wearable for their avatars, as well as physical pewter figurine which will be delivered to them. On the night, it was also announce that Higgins had reserved serial number 001/100 of the pewter 8SIAN Lady.
“I’m proud of Royal Selangor’s collaboration with 8SIAN and our participation in the Metaverse Fashion Week. This is a great opportunity to converge both the physical and virtual world to provide an immersive brand experience for all. We invite attendees from all over the world to connect and engage with us during the event,” expressed Yong Yoon Li, the Managing Director of Royal Selangor.
During the Metaverse Fashion Week held from 24 to 27 March, visitors attended virtual fashion shows, live music sessions and joined after-parties as well as shopped during the event.
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To attend the Metaverse Fashion Week, visit Decentraland or follow 8SIAN on Twitter for updates and information.
