Anybodies is a digital fashion brand that is styling the metaverse. As an Anybodies NFT holder, ... [+]
A big concern for NFT (Non Fungible Token) critics is that there is no real world value when purchasing or minting an NFT. As NFTs continue to expand and change how people on the internet exchange value and express themselves, the real world element of how digital value transfers to the non-digital world is something that will separate new projects from competitors. A new SOLANA based NFT project aims to change that, called Anybodies.
The Anybodies project is styling and bringing diversity into the metaverse. These NFT collectibles will serve as access to the Anywhere Island, the Anybodies Metaverse, granting shared ownership and creative contribution to products, accessories and creations. As some brands look to add a digital element to their physical products, like Adidas just recently announced, Anybodies plans to create more value from the digital side and keep physical product prices at a very affordable amount. In order to learn more about the plan to grow the Anybodies brand, and how their team plans to become the household name for creating & collaborating on products that will exist in the metaverse and in the real world, I sat down with their team and asked them about their plans.
Jackson Weimer: In one short sentence, what is Anybodies on a third grade level?
Anybodies: A digital fashion brand styling the metaverse.
Weimer: What is Anywhere Island?
Anybodies: The Anywhere Island is the name of our Metaverse.
Weimer: What is the Diamond Vault?
Anybodies: This is our staking concept. Anybodies are staked in the Diamond Vault for 30 days at a time. Each staked Anybodies gives you access to our 3D wardrobe, Future Gen Airdrops, and most importantly our exclusive merch powered by Solana.
Weimer: For your first piece of real and digital world clothing, you are making sneakers. What led to that decision?
Anybodies: We have a strong relationship with VIJZBESPOKE, a well known shoe customization company. Our founder is a complete Sneakerhead. Sneakers are at the core of Hypebeast fashion/culture, so it only made sense for us to start with sneakers.
When buying clothing or any merch from our store you are effectively minting an NFT, all our sales happen on chain. Meaning that you are buying this merch using Solana. 1 NFT = 1 physical delivered to your door. We will be the first website to sell clothing using Solana as our currency.
Weimer: I noticed there are only 3,000 Anybodies. Why is that the number you picked and what is the significance of it?
Anybodies: Each item we manufacture will be limited to 3,000 pieces. For every Anybodies you have in the Vault, you’re guaranteed 1 piece of merch. Imagine you had a lifetime pass for every Supreme drop. That’s what we are doing here.
Weimer: What are all of your past experiences with NFTs and art? Tell me about the team’s makeup.
Anybodies: Our artist Xi Ding is well known for his stylized portraits, he has been working professionally as designer and illustrator for over a decade.
Our founder Ellihandro discovered his art while scrolling through Instagram, reached out to him, and we immediately hit it off with the Anybodies idea. Elli would build the business & utility side of the project, while Xi would create the art.
The NFT space is dominated by animals and fictional characters. We wanted to create a project that represents as many communities, races, genders and identities as possible. As far as we know, we are one of, if not the first, to have Muslim and LGTBQ representation.
Weimer: How does Anybodies speak to the idea of anyone can be anything?
Anybodies: As an Anybodies holder you get to creatively contribute on all our merchandise and designs. Digital fashion enables anyone to be able to create and build something without being limited to their location, gender, color etc.
We will be working with fashion colleges in South Africa to give students the opportunity to design and create digital items that we will use and sell under our brand.
Weimer: Which NFTs are going to be more rare than others. Like what characteristics are more rare/valuable?
Anybodies: Rarity was our biggest challenge! We almost ended up not having rarity since we represent different races, genders etc. We ended up creating a rarity that is purely based on the clothing, accessories and background colors. All races, genders etc are all valued equally in our rarity.
Weimer: As your Discord grows, how are you going to maintain it so spam and scams don't overrun it.
Anybodies: We have already employed two full time community managers that are extremely active in our discord. We’re also building our own verification system. Our Discord will have verified channels that can only be accessed once you’ve proven your ownership of your Anybodies.
Weimer: What benefits are going to come from holding an Anybody that haven't been discussed yet?
Anybodies: We have planned a mutation called the Nobodies. These will be given to all Anybodies owners for free. Nobodies gives you the ability to create your own avatar. We give you a blank body which you can fully customize with: the traits of your Anybodies, and any other Solana NFT projects you own.
An example of a Nobodies owner who owns a Thugbird NFT, so he is able to equip the Thugbird chain on ... [+]
If you own 3 Anybodies all with different hair styles, you will have those hairstyles unlocked in your 3D wardrobe and be able to equip your Nobodies with either hair style. The same goes for all other traits (glasses, tattoos etc.) your Anybodies have. PFP NFTs are mostly used to flex all the communities/NFTs you own. We will be integrating designs to include popular collections into our merch. If you own a Solana Monkey Business NFT, the SMB necklace will be unlocked and you will be able to equip it to your Nobodie.
Once your NFT purchase is complete, you will receive a 3D NFT version of your clothing/merch item in your wallet that can be used in-game & in metaverses & can be viewed and equipped on your Nobodies via the 3D Dressing Room.
Weimer: What merch making experience led you down this path?
Anybodies: Our founding team doesn’t have any experience in manufacturing merchandise, however we all share a common love/appreciation for nice clothes! We all like to look good! We are firm believers in hiring smarter people to tell us how best to achieve our goals. We are currently onboarding a product developer with a masters degree in fashion design. She will be our northern star with designing our merchandise and will work alongside our stylist.
Weimer: Where do you expect most of the profits from your clothes and hype-beast merch to come from if not from your Diamond Vault?
Anybodies: Most of our profits will come from the Royalties (5%) generated from the secondary market sales of the Anybodies NFTs. We want our physical merch to be affordable for all our holders, so we will not be charging high markups on our clothing items. We want as many of our holders as possible to be able to wear and boast about our merch! The more we grow as a brand, the more valuable the Anybodies NFTs become.
A rough draft for what the Diamond Vault will look like to holders of an Anybodies NFT
Weimer: What partnerships do you have in mind to get people interested in your clothing brand?
Anybodies: We are already in talks with some notable brands, including Lonsdale. We are also looking to partner with existing metaverses & games built on Solana like Star Atlas. The digital versions of our merch will all be wearable in these metaverses & games.
Weimer: Why is your project on Solana and not Ethereum?
Anybodies: Mainly because ETH gas fees have become increasingly unaffordable for the average NFT buyer. We wanted as many new buyers to have a fast, easy and affordable minting experience, so that’s why we chose Solana. Another huge upside is Solana is the preferred chain to build games & metaverses on, making a lot more possible with their fast and low transaction costs.
Weimer: What challenges do you see to make your project popular?
Anybodies: The biggest challenge I see for our project is showing proof of work/concept. Unfortunately there have been many projects who have over promised and under delivered! We believe once we’ve completed our first delivery of the Custom Air Force 1s, then people will have a lot more confidence in our team & project!
Weimer: What other projects are you inspired by?
Anybodies: RTFKT is the most successful digital fashion company built on the ETH network. We came to learn about them halfway into ours, and are thankful we found them as we learnt a lot from their work.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
