We help brands create & sell augmented, on-chain fashion.

Thesis: The future of fashion is augmented & on-chain.

Fashion has always been about story. Since inception, clothing and accessories have served as signals of values, status, and community. Whether rare furs and gems adorned by ancient civilizations, ornate hanfu fabrics that once indexed social hierarchy in China, or the collectible kicks and niche brands coveted by today’s enthusiast, what we wear communicates narratives of our identity to the world.

But fashion has also traditionally been limited by its physical form – designers and consumers are constrained by what we can express with just atoms. When you add bits to the equation however, the possibilities become endless. Augmented fashion introduces a new medium of storytelling via digital holograms. Imagine an Arc'teryx hat augmented with its own microclimate reflective of the live weather conditions of the mountains you last hiked with it; a memorabilia tee from Post Malone’s Rock in Rio concert that transports you into real moments sourced from a network of fans who attended the show; a pair of auctioned off Kareem Adidas forum lows that reveal exclusive content from the Skyhook Foundation event supported by the proceeds…

At Sphene, we believe in developing technology that unlocks new ways for us to create and connect over richer stories & interactions. No where is that opportunity more clear and exciting to us than connecting physical items online and enabling a novel creative vector for the fashion industry. We’re introducing a new lego piece – an unexplored mechanic, and empowering brands, designers, and their networks of fans to experience this new wave of expression.

But first, what really is augmented fashion?

Augmented fashion is an emerging category of fashion where physical items are connected on-chain and enhanced with digital information and visuals. Consider the two core technologies at play: Blockchain & Augmented Reality. Both enable novel use cases in fashion but have independently struggled with adoption. Yet when combined together, they negate the major flaws of one another while magnifying their individual value propositions:

Blockchain: Connecting fashion on-chain

On-chain fashion refers to physical items paired to a unique digital token – in other words, physical fashion pieces with provenance. Imagine you picked up an item and it somehow knew the exact edition size, season release, ownership history, and even live market price of itself. Sounds absurd, right? Not only does this mechanic of pairing a physical item with a digital deed enable all these pieces of information, it also creates new possibilities in ownership verification, counterfeit protection, and even second-hand resale royalties.

Yet, while the promise of connecting fashion on-chain is exciting, the vision is dead in the water if it cannot be packaged and presented in a way that truly excites the fashion enthusiast. Existing attempts involving eye-sore QR codes and hidden NFC chips that route users to disjointed webpages have come up short.

Augmented Reality: Enhancing fashion with a digital layer

AR-enhanced fashion refers to physical items paired with a digital visual extension – in other words, fashion pieces with holograms embedded into its fabric. With this new design space, there are endless possibilities for brands and designers to create new value for their fans.

And while additive AR visuals have proven the potential to be striking, the results have always felt closer to gimmick than proper utility. Virtual try-ons are just a digital replica of the same physical product. Simple animations and 3D models are generally underwhelming and don’t unlock the full potential of the medium. Free-for-all Instagram and Snapchat filters lack the exclusivity that’s core to fashion values of ownership and identity. All in all, many existing attempts at creating AR-enhanced fashion feel cheap and disconnected to the actual product & owner themselves.

Combining both

So on one hand, on-chain fashion brings tons of game-changing utility to the industry but lacks an engaging access point; on the other, AR-enhanced fashion is enthralling but lacks the proper utility for repeat engagement… yup, you’ve read my mind.

We believe that AR is the perfect medium to bring on-chain utility to the masses. It beautifully packages the utility of blockchain-enabled fashion while also removing barriers to adoption for both the consumer and the brand. Not only does it synergize with consumers’ existing behavior of engaging with fashion through the camera, it also synergizes with brands’ existing manufacturing and production processes by requiring just a unique design.

So why does Sphene exist?

Sphene exists to onboard the myriad of brands, artists, and independent designers out there to this new frontier of fashion. Chances are you aren’t a Nike with infinite resources and technical knowledge to harness AR, computer vision, and blockchain tech for yourself. Sphene is here to democratize access to that technology in a simple and brand-neutral way. We are a no-code tech solution that enables you to create & sell augmented, on-chain collections without creative compromise.

Think of us a bit like Gore-Tex. In and of itself, Gore-Tex is not a fashion brand – instead of seasonal collections the company creates technical innovations, specifically world-class technical fabrics that it licenses out to its extensive list of AAA brand partners. Likewise, Sphene is not a fashion brand – instead, we are a company that creates world-class augmented fashion technology that we use to empower our curated list of brand partners. **

When you see Gore-Tex on a product, you likely think weather-proof, performance, outdoors, etc. In that same vein, when you see a Sphene-enabled product, we want you to think:

Augmented – this product comes embedded with a holographic layer. Pointing your camera at it will unveil a whole new dimension of digital experiences.

Verified – built on top of blockchain technology, this product is verifiably limited, has provable ownership history, and protects consumers from counterfeits in the secondary-market.

Future – inside this product lies a little taste of the future.