It’s hard for me to believe the word “blockchain” is actually making an appearance on The Sequin Lead, but here we are. And if you’re wondering why you’re seeing “blockchain” in the context of the fashion resale brand you know and love so dearly, let me explain.

This is why.

“This” refers to a recent article from Retail Brew titled “Luxury resale on the blockchain may be closer than you think” and as someone who has both dreaded and rolled my eyes at blockchain and Web3 technology (relax, don’t come at me, I get times and technology change and evolve), I was reticent to cover this topic at all. But: the time has come.

Let’s start with this: the article is worth reading, informative, and will get you thinking. Basically, the thesis is that as the secondhand luxury market in particular grows — and it’s important to note we’re specifically talking about the secondhand luxury market here — brands and investors are “betting” that these high-end resale transactions will in the not-distant-future happen on the blockchain. The industry is bullish enough, in fact, to have formed something called the Aura Blockchain Consortium, “a nonprofit organization that operates a private blockchain and creates ‘digital twins’—virtual representations of a physical good—for luxury brands.”

If you’re wondering why (and once again, ‘why’ is in italics) brands and investors are so interested in this, it boils down to this: the use of a digital twin can help prevent the sale of counterfeits — allegedly. These digital twins can also, theoretically, support recycling and repairs (how remains to be seen exactly), and nurture brands’ understanding of consumer behavior through a treasure trove of data and additional revenue.

Today, Aura’s solution is in production and actually in use with brands like Cartier and Louis Vuitton. According to Retail Brew, a “transfer-of-ownership product is on the way,” with ~17 million items already logged on the Aura blockchain.

The technology is cool and the business case makes sense on paper. But there seems like a pretty substantial consumer education piece and mental model shift that likely needs to occur for consumers to adopt this en masse — which, who knows, may not actually need to happen en masse if we’re really only talking about the luxury good market.

What do you think? Would a ‘digital twin’ of a luxury item impact your decision to buy or sell more or less luxury on the secondhand market? Let us know.