Louis Vuitton's Brown Varsity Jacket was one of the many Western-inspired products to walk the runway in the fashion house’s cowboy-themed Fall/Winter 2024 menswear show.
Made with suede buckskin, supple-grained leather sleeves, and cowboy-inspired lacing, it has now been revealed that the jacket will be released differently from everything else from the FW24 collection: it is the first ready-to-wear article designed by Pharrell Williams to become available for VIA.
A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) project where Louis Vuitton creates digital collectibles out of its products, VIA has released 200 of these jackets, priced at €7,900 (around $8,500), as a phygital drop — meaning that buyers will receive a physical jacket and a digital collectible.
This limited-edition release is exclusively reserved for owners of a VIA Treasure Trunk, an NFT that cost €39,000 and was sold in June last year. It's unclear how many VIA Treasure Trunk owners there are, however, “several hundred trunks” were available according to reports.
Ownership of the trunks cannot be transferred but subsequent NFT purchases, such as this varsity jacket, can be sold on the secondary market. This jacket follows the release of a monogram Speedy 40 bag and a digital Mini Trunk through Louis Vuitton's VIA platform.
Pharrell’s time at Louis Vuitton has seen the release of many exclusive products. For example, the brand’s $1 million Speedy bag was available for sale on a made-to-order basis. This jacket, which is only available for those who have purchased a previous NFT and costs an eye-watering €7,900, might just be the hardest thing to buy from his latest Louis Vuitton Men’s collection.
We are, however, still waiting for the release of the Louis Vuitton Timberland Boots, and you can expect them to be near-impossible to buy.
