Emma Liu, cofounder of ChainGuardians, credits the ChainGuardians Super Heroes as the inspiration … [+]
As the metaverse continues creating new opportunities for brands and industries, it’s opening a new realm for fashion designers. In addition, metaverse platforms have the potential to transform the online shopping experience for consumers providing a unique way to engage with brands. Technavio reported that the metaverse in fashion market share is expected to increase to $6.61 billion from 2021 to 2026. Companies such as ChainGuardians are elevating how people interact with augmented (AR
Emma Liu, cofounder of ChainGuardians, is dedicated to maximizing the power of blockchain by creating imaginative, innovative and original experiences that weave Web3, NFT and metaverse utilities. The company is pushing the boundaries of conventional entertainment, media, art and fashion. Liu and her team are creating strategies to break through the technological and ideological barriers of the physical world to deliver the future economies of business the Web3 metaverse has to offer. The company is backed by major supporters, including AU21 Capital, GenBlock Capital and SkyVision Capital.
Additionally, ChainGuardians has recently committed $1 million in grants to entrepreneurs looking to enter the Web3 space. Through the Guardians Phygital Grant program, entrepreneurs integrate into the Web3 space by receiving education, guidance, connections and initial financing. In addition, the program helps incubate their business ideas in various places in the metaverse, including the Cryptoverse, ChainGuardians’ blockchain-powered metaverse.
“We saw a great alignment of combining the fashion, plus some digital experiences as part of our metaverse strategy,” Liu states. “That’s where we started to say, ‘Why don’t we level up this initiative to do phygital with our original intent of just the brand awareness.’ So that’s why for the fashion event, we had the honor to actually attend to showcase not only our entire fashion line in the phygital line, the streetwear; we enhanced it with VR and AR experiences… So seeing our brand IP, not only just walk them on the fashion runway, but also, at the same time, able to have digital experiences to showcase this is the potential of the future where digital models and also digital fashion enhance the Web3 shopping experiences that’s coming in the near future.”
Augmented Reality allows users to interact with the ChainGuardians clothing including seeing … [+]
Liu’s career began in the banking industry as a financial analyst. After many years, she became bored and sought out other opportunities. A former colleague reached out asking if she would like to work on implementing different accounting software projects for the Canadian government. Liu took the risk of leaving a steady income and becoming a consultant.
However, she still felt like something was missing; Liu wanted to start her own company. During that time, she decided to join her cofounders, Idon Liu, her brother, and Robbie Cochrane, in creating ChainGuardians. With her project management background, her partners knew she’d be able to build and scale the idea of a player-driven platform that combines traditional gaming concepts with blockchain technologies.
“When we first started looking at combining the fashion into the NFT, we looked at what actually would be meaningful or something that would make the fashion world different,” she explains. “There’s a new way to monetize in the fashion world, especially the NFT can protect against counterfeit fraud and also proof of ownership… What it means to hold an NFT is that you hold ownership of digital assets. Then that digital asset also comes with a physical asset, the real fashion piece we showcase. But at the same time, digital assets can give you different VR and AR experiences or even give you different metaverse experiences; you can see the avatar wearing the same outfit you’ll be buying as a physical piece.”
In 2018, ChainGuardians launched, creating an ecosystem where players can participate in the free-to-play NFT Mining platform and Role-Playing Game. Each platform allows players to earn income, turning their time and energy into tangible rewards. Additionally, in honor of the company’s first presence at the recently completed New York Fashion Week, where it unveiled its Phygital Meta Streetwear Collection, ChainGuardians will award the first two $50,000 business grants to fashion and luxury-based businesses.
Liu and her team participated in September’s New York Fashion Week’s Nolcha Shows, which featured a Web3 experience, a chance to showcase the future of fashion and trying on clothing. “The future of fashion is phygital,” Arthur Mandel, founder and host of the Nolcha Shows, states. “The virtual elements will promote sustainability and inclusion. Personal style and identities will be fully expressed and not limited to real-life formats. But there is no virtual without the physical—a person still needs to engage all five senses in order to experience something fully.”
As Liu continues to evolve in her career and Web3, she focuses on the following essential steps:
“I’m a fearless lady,” Liu concludes. “I’m not afraid to go after what I want. I always ask for what’s best for my company; to achieve the dream by not being afraid to push forward, push the boundaries.”
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Updated: Wei Ng; Robbie Cochrane
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