Fendi and Miu Miu Revive the Iconic Marilyn Monroe

CGI Marilyn Monroe will appear on eight covers of CR Fashion Book China in April. The images on the cover of the fashion magazine, later founded by French fashion editor Carine Roitfeld, are also featured in print separately in a series of NFTs – revived with Web 3.0 technology.

Roifeld imagined what modern-day Monroe might wear, and dressed her in outfits from Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Thom Browne, Fendi, David Koma and Miu Miu, in addition to a digital fashion collection by Auroboros and Tribute Brands. Jim Gibb, the creative director of Marilyn Monroe Estate, says that digitally recreating Monroe is the purpose of this activity.

"It's easy to forget that one of the most celebrated women in the paparazzi in the world was captured in the film era, not the pixel," says Gibb. "We'll never know what she'll look like in high resolution. It's exciting to be able to see her beauty through CGI and imagine what she would look like wearing today's top designs."

Materials, images and portraits related to Marilyn Monroe are owned by Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which also owns the legacy of the late boxer Muhammad Ali and brands such as Brooks Brothers, Neil Lane and Nine West.

Fashion and beauty gradually find fertile ground in revitalizing existing assets in the virtual world. Recently, MAC Comestics revived its partnership with the late artist Keith Haring, which included a series of NFTs. Ralph Lauren brought iconic 1990s pieces to his winter Roblox experience and Ambush generated 2,022 NFTs for Pow! – his iconic jewels. And while Selfridges developed digital versions of 1960s archive designs from Paco Rabanne, most of these designs are not actually produced.

A year ago, Karl Lagerfeld's photo archive was registered on the Lukso blockchain, through Chanel and the former artistic director of fashion Eric Pfrunder, who collaborated with the late designer. The project is the first release from Amethyst, a social networking platform that provides creators with access to NFT and Web 3.0 projects, co-founded by Elliott Foote, a former casting executive who Holds the China CR Fashion Book license.

For this project, Amethyst worked with Monroe Estate, owning all rights to Marilyn Monroe's name, image, likeness and personal association for eight months and tapping the Now image production team Open to recreate her beauty through CGI. Foote wanted to find an easier way to transfer intellectual property to Web 3.0.

“Amethyst is a launching pad for digital artists and influencers to cross barriers,” he said. “Although everyone is curious about Web 3.0, most projects are still tech-heavy and run by programmers. It's not the easiest thing to get into crypto because it's not like signing up for a new platform. We hope this will make the process easier.”

NFTs is a partnership between Amethyst, ABG and Now Open. Project Monroe comes at just the right time for real estate with Blonde – a popular Netflix biographical documentary set to be released later this year. One of the portraits of actress Andy Warhol, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn also sold at auction through Christie's in May for a record-breaking estimate of $200 million.

To create a CGI version of the star, Now Open crafted each of the smallest elements like individual eyelashes. Now Open also recruited models and photographed them in contemporary designs to recreate her body. "Complete body reconstruction will take years," he said.

Amethyst has other similar projects planned with advertisers and influencers. “Web 3.0 space allowed us to experiment and find new ways to discover the Marilyn Monroe brand,” says Gibb. "Her beauty has been demonstrated through various mediums over the decades; We wanted to explore this new technology and add to her photographic legacy."

One constant for Marilyn Monroe is that she never lost her inherent influence.

According to Vogue Business