World-renowned Hong Kong designer Vivienne Tam, with the support of Cyberport and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, collaborated with Animoca Brands and Hepha to bring the streets of Hong Kong to her New York Fashion Week runway show on February 12 (New York time).
Animoca Brands, a company that advances digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse, is headquartered in Cyberport, while Hepha is a Cyberport incubatee.
This novel initiative introduced to the audience a brand-new fashion experience by interweaving creativity, artistry, the prowess of technologies, synergy between members of the Cyberport community, and the charm of Hong Kong, Animoca Brands said in a statement.
Tam is an enthusiast of fashiontech and Web3 technologies, and founded EW Metaverse, a Cyberport fashiontech company. Together with Hepha, they created the Hong Kong metaverse environment on the stage.
As the audience saw models walking down the runway, they simultaneously embraced the metaverse that showed the city’s urban streetscape and signature features such as Hong Kong trams, the legendary floating restaurant, eye-catching fluorescent signs, and pawn shops.
Through the curation of Ms Tam and Animoca Brands, blue chip non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Cool Cats, Mocaverse, Meebit, and CryptoPunks, also adorned the streets of the virtual Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Director Candy Nip said :“The creative talents of Hong Kong never cease to amaze.”
“Vivienne and Cyberport seamlessly married fashion and innovation on this glamourous global platform. We are proud to be a part of this incredible project, exuding the originality, inspiration, and beauty of Hong Kong,” she added.
Cyberport Chief Executive Officer Peter Yan said :”It is delightful to witness a perfect Hong Kong story showcased in an international arena as prestigious as the New York Fashion Week.”
“EW Metaverse, Animoca Brands and Hepha innovatively applied the metaverse and NFT technologies to the fashion runway, making Vivienne’s show a spectacular success, and presented us with the exciting possibilities of Web3 technologies in art and entertainment,
“We look forward to seeing more collaborations within the Cyberport community, and further synergy between Hong Kong and global talents in the development and application of fashiontech and other technologies,” he added.
Tam said :“When I broached the idea of setting my runway against the background of a metaverse, I immediately thought of Animoca Brands and Hong Kong’s Cyberport. There are so many talents in Hong Kong, both from local and international origins, equipped with out-of-the-box ideas, top-notch technologies as well as an adventurous can-do spirit.”
“I take pride in what we have achieved together with Animoca Brands and start-up Hepha in the New York Fashion Week. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Cyberport and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York for their support in making this wonderful show possible,” she added.
Animoca Brands Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Yat Siu said :“It is a privilege to work with Vivienne and Hepha to bring a virtual Hong Kong to the New York Fashion Week.”
“The various NFTs featured in the show represent some of the most loved and impactful brands in the open metaverse. It is awesome to see them being brought to life on Vivienne’s runway,” he added.
Hepha Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Lee said :”The Hepha team is extremely honoured to be a part of this project, with Vivienne and Animoca Brands, two renowned leaders in their own realms, as our partners.”
“We are thrilled to stage Hepha’s ‘Scan the World’ Hong Kong metaverse on Vivienne’s runway show,
“We are grateful for the exceptional opportunity to join hands with other Cyberport community members in displaying the innovation and technology competence of Hong Kong internationally. We hope to see more similar endeavours in the future,” he added.
Digital Entertainment and Esports is one of the key clusters at Cyberport, boasting over 160 related start-ups and tech companies across the realms of arttech, fashiontech, movietech, the metaverse, NFTs, and more.
In January 2023, “Web3 Hub@Cyberport” was established to attract international Web3 companies to set up operations in Hong Kong, as well as provide opportunities for exchanges and collaboration between local and foreign Web3 enterprises.
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