FAQs

• What is augmented fashion?
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  ‍Augmented fashion is a new product category that merges the digital and physical worlds of fashion together into one entity. It is a class of fashion that has holograms literally embedded into the fabric of the item itself.
  
  As we experience the world more and more through camera lenses, and as AR continues to permeate culture, the physical world as we know it will have a digital layer over everything. Fashion will never be the same as physical pieces come embedded with unique digital visuals. You might someday own a pair of crazy custom Nikes emitting handcrafted ethereal effects from the designer, a vintage YEEZY piece that's seeded with memories from a Kanye concert it was worn to, and a limited-edition Arc'teryx jacket augmented with its own microclimate reflective of the live weather conditions of the region it was inspired by.
• What does it mean for physical fashion to be connected on-chain?
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  ‍Items connected on-chain will have their own individual digital identities (represented by a Non-Fungible Token) and have verifiable owners at any given time. This gives way to verifiable provenance for individual items, solving issues of authenticity and trust in the secondary resale markets.
  
  For example, you may have found a vintage jersey that you want to collect as memorabilia; with on-chain data, you would be able to see how it's been passed from the original athlete down through different collectors' hands to the current owner.
• How does the item know who to display as the owner?
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  ‍Again, physical items connected on-chain will be linked to an NFT that represents the "deed of ownership" for that particular limited-edition item. When purchasing a Sphene-compatible good, the buyer will receive both the physical item and the paired NFT, which will be sent directly to their crypto wallet.
• How do people see the holograms and ownership info? Do you need an app?
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  ‍Holograms are triggered when a user points a smartphone camera running the Sphene application at your design. Our computer vision technology will recognize the item and serve the relevant content including information on the collection and owner – all in a way that feels native to the design of the garment itself!
• Why AR? Why not an NFC chip or a QR code?
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  ‍We believe in allowing our partners to retain as much creative control over their collections as possible. The beautiful thing about computer vision is that we can trigger these experiences without forcing you to slap on a tacky QR code onto your designs. It will simply work with whatever logo, patch, graphic imagery, etc. you have envisioned for your collection. NFC chips are useful for an additional layer of security, but add friction to both the manufacturing process and end-user experience.
  
  It's important to note that these methods are not mutually exclusive – our technology works with or without these other means of linking a physical good on-chain to a token.
• What type of content can we use as holograms?
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  ‍The beautiful thing about tapping into a digital layer is no longer being constrained by traditional limitations of physics. From surreal special effects to portals into another world and fully interactive experiences – let your imagination run wild. Our goal is to enable brands/designers/artists and their fans to experience and connect over a completely new creative vector of fashion. Feel free to reach out to our team if you need some inspiration!
• How does the hologram get embedded?
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  ‍Your hologram content gets paired to a physical identifier - i.e, a logo or graphic design that’s unique to that particular collection. Sphene uses computer vision to recognize your identifier and serve the relevant hologram, product, and ownership information.
• What can I use as the identifier? Does it need to be a patch?
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  ‍Any kind of graphic with sufficient contrast, resolution, and details will work great as an image target for your holographic content. Check out this article for some great pointers on what makes a good image target and examples of best practices in action. The medium does not therefore need to be a patch - the technology is compatible with graphic prints, embroidery, vinyl, tags, and so on.
  
  In addition, each identifier within the collection will need to have its own serial number (like 001, 002, 003... 998, 999, etc.) This is to distinguish between each item within a limited-edition set, and support linking rightful ownership information to each piece.
• Do I need to create the holograms myself?
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  ‍Nope! Don't sweat if you do not have the expertise or resources for creating the embedded AR experiences. Sphene has internal resources dedicated to bringing your creative visions to life.
• What happens if someone creates counterfeits of my collection or item?
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  Great question – all replicas they produce will actually scan and display the same within the Sphene app. This means it will display the same content, including the ownership information! That means in the secondary markets, only the rightful owner with the actual token linked to the garment in their crypto wallet will have access to transferring the rights to another buyer. And once that transaction is processed, the item, along with all its replicas, would display the updated ownership information of the new owner.