PUMA Unveils Metaverse Black Station For NFT Collection

Sportswear brand giant PUMA has revealed its newly released Metaverse space which includes a non-fungible token (NFT) collection depicting its sneakers.

The metaverse experience tagged ‘Black Station’ was made public at the New York Fashion Week which began on September 9 as part of its ‘FUTROGRADE’ collection. 

Notably, these NFTs possess a unique feature in that they are redeemable as physical sneakers. That is, users who gain ownership of the limited NFTs can decide to retrieve the tangible sneakers in real-life. 

According to Adam Petrick, Puma’s chief brand officer,

“Twenty years ago, Black Station was PUMA’s home for our most innovative designs in fashion. Given the boundaries we are pushing from a product design and digital standpoint, we found it fitting to bring Black Station back as a new portal for digital exploration across fashion, sports performance, our heritage classics, and innovation.”

Beyond Puma, Nike, Others Joins The Metaverse

A sequential method of enjoying the metaverse experience was explicitly spelled out. Visitors will gain access to a digital lobby via three portals. The first two portals have been made available since September 7. Both portals will reveal exclusive never-seen-before Nitro NFRNO and Nitro Fastroid sneakers linked to PUMA’s recent NFT Nitropass mint.

Those who successfully mint a Nitropass will receive two NFTs of which one will be a representation of the physical shoe.

While the other one will provide virtual access to the uniquely designed customized experience of the same shoe. After the completion of the show, users get the chance to redeem these NFTs by burning them.

While this is PUMA’s first foray into such an endeavor, other sports brands have dived into these waters before now. Chief sportswear firm, Nike initially entered the metaverse at the tail-end of last year with the acquisition of digital sneakers and collectibles brand RTFKT. 

Shortly after, it started exploring the development of NFTs as a significant source of revenue. It was in the light of this discovery that Nike generated a huge sum of $185 million from the sales of NFTs. Similarly, brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Estee Lauder, and luxury brand Prada have also charted this same course.