As the fashion industry experiments with technology-centric ventures—Virtual Reality, NFTs, and of course, the Metaverse—designers and brands alike are debuting exciting formats that test the limits of the traditional catwalk and fashion calendar. For Bronx-born, Atlanta-based brand whensmokeclears, that tech-focused exploration included a captivating, four-minute fashion video NFT documenting its Fall/Winter 2022 collection: “It’s Giving Renaissance.”

Creative Director Thermal Taveras originally debuted the collection gorilla-style on an ad truck in front of Spring Studios during the most recent slate of fashion shows. The 15-look collection sees the brand step into new sartorial directions—deep red full-length coats, angular evening wear, and cut-to-perfection suiting—a departure from the label’s signature athleisure influences.

Not only testing the limits design-wise, the collection is an attempt by the label to digitize and democratize the fashion experience, putting forward a dialogue on the costly expenses and physically taxing realities of staging an in-person runway show. In partnering with digital marketplace Glass, whensmokeclears takes the concept of NFTs one step further: by turning the above film into a purchasable NFT, ownership was returned to the brand and decentralized from streaming and social media platforms.

Merging the tangible with the digital, the collection’s NFT sold for .55 ETH or $1,800 USD, giving the purchaser front-row tickets to all of the brand’s upcoming in-person runway shows. The move speaks to Taveras’ wider attempts to reframe conversations in the industry, specifically around exclusivity, accessibility, and classism.

Too, the brand announced that its latest NFT venture will not be its last in the digital sphere, as it plans to continue to collaborate with the co-founder of Glass Dayo Adeosun. The pair are set to drop explanatory videos on the value of NFTs, digital currencies, and navigating the intersection of fashion and technology.