Philipp Plein Acquires $1.4 Million-Worth Real Estate in the Metaverse
META ESTATE: Philipp Plein made his move in the metaverse.
The Plein Group has purchased a plot of land in the Decentraland metaverse, a 3D virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain.
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The Switzerland-based fashion company bought the estate for a price of 510,000 Manas — Decentraland’s own cryptocurrency — corresponding to approximately $1.4 million, as per the transaction date’s exchange.
Dubbed Plein Plaza, the estate is claimed to be situated in a prime location directly overlooking one of the Genesis Plazas, framed and accessible from two roads, and covers 65 Decentraland parcels, the equivalent of approximately 176,528 square feet in the real world.
The transaction was operated by the fashion group under the alias Bug$ Bunny with the assistance of Jason Rosenstein, founder and chief executive officer of the NFT auction house and marketplace Portion, which will be also involved in the development of the estate.
Digital visual artist Antoni Tudisco will additionally play a role in the creation of the Plein Plaza project, which will include stores, entertainment, an art museum, a hotel and luxury residences.
Plein said he was proud “to have seized this opportunity to own a portion of the Metaverse so early on in the development and establishment of this new universe.”
“We are there to stay and to develop and share the creativity of all our brands — Philipp Plein, Plein Sport and Billionaire — also in this new dimension of human interaction in which I personally believe a lot,” he added.
The German designer was among the firsts to fully embrace the potential of the digital world and its tools. Last year, the company opened up to cryptocurrencies, accepting more than 20 different types as means of payment both in its brick-and-mortar stores and on its e-commerce.
Last month, the Philipp Plein men’s fall 2022 presentation hosted at the group’s new Milanese headquarters also featured sculptures of monsters first intended as NFT-only art and then turned into physical objects, which the designer aims to exhibit next December at Art Basel Miami.
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