Deadfellaz and Wrangler Bring Vintage Denim To Web3

Legendary JPEG-turned-media-company Deadfellaz is teaming up with iconic denim brand Wrangler® to bring a vintage fashion staple to the mystical world of web3.

Earlier this month, the two companies dropped a choose-your-own-adventure interactive storyline created by “The Horde” (the Deadfellaz community). The storyline determined the outcome of a digital comic strip (see below) drawn by conceptual artist Leon Lee.

The first Deadfellaz x Wrangler merch drop is “phygital” with 20 NFC-infused (NFC = Near-Field Communication) vintage Wrangler jeans. Each pair of jeans will link to an NFT of the final comic strip, represented as a digital asset co-created by the community during this epic digital journey! The NFT drop is in collaboration with LTD.INC, a web3 platform for top artists and creators.

The Wrangler team is no stranger to NFTs. But this drop feels extra web3 native. Wrangler partnered with Deadfellaz to “shift focus to the degens and lean into a fully organic approach” to web3.

The brand is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Among the special collections and collaborations, Wrangler wanted to embrace technology and culture to build a concept all about where they see fashion going for the next 75 years.  

According to Wrangler, “this drop is born out of a determination to add value to the space, which was our mission from the start.”

Original Deadfellaz artwork will be embedded into the jeans with an NFC chip that you can scan for exclusive digital content and community access via LTD.INC’s app. The new technology is evolving how brands can communicate with fans by engaging them wherever they are.

Daryl Kelly, CEO of LTD.INC, shares his thoughts on the unique phygital fashion release.

“This is a first-of-its-kind physical + digital collection. “Pre-loved” vintage jeans are being recorded on the blockchain and connected to a corresponding NFT allowing LTD.INC to catalog collectible denim from the official Wrangler vintage archives.”

The completed comic book strip, revealed on September 26, tells a story of an adventurous heroine and her compelling journey to save a friend from dangerous poachers.

Those who interacted with the plot have the opportunity to win rare, limited-edition apparel from the first of multiple upcoming Deadfellaz x Wrangler releases.

“This is a groundbreaking partnership in the [NFT] space, receiving an overwhelming response from audiences on both sides,” noted Kelly.

ONE37pm was fortunate enough to sit down with the beloved Betty, co-founder of Deadfellaz, to talk about the power of collaborative storytelling, phygital fashion, and the overall state of web3.

ONE37pm: Deadfellaz didn’t exist two years ago. My mom wore Wranglers in 1975. It’s amazing to see an iconic, well-loved brand innovating in the fashion world. From the Deadfellaz perspective, how did this partnership come about?

Betty: Folks on the Wrangler team attended our activation at NFT.NYC in Brooklyn and loved our community and culture — they saw the power of aligning with an engaged community to enter Web3 in a meaningful and respectful way. They were fans of what we were doing. Wrangler then approached us with some ideas on how to collaborate.

We loved the scope of ideas they had and the innovation they were keen to embrace. It was a collaborative process to come to what we eventually landed on for this partnership — bringing elements of both of our worlds together. It was surprising to work with a Web2 legacy brand in this way — where they really want to run with the Web3 ethos. It’s been really fun.

ONE37pm: What gets you excited about partnering with legacy brands like Wrangler?

Betty: The coming together of history and innovation. It feels like we’re meeting in the middle where people can enjoy everything that comes with a trusted nostalgic brand, but also the excitement of seeing a brand embrace a disruptive ecosystem that is changing the relationship between consumers and creators.

I love that shift, I love being able to facilitate that and show people how it can work. It is really exciting.

ONE37pm: Why should the broader web3 ecosystem be excited about Deadfellaz x Wrangler?

Betty: I think both the Web3 and Web2 ecosystems should be excited about this partnership. It validates the strength of the brands being born from these NFT projects and honors the participation of the folks that make up these communities.

We’re demonstrating how brands can interact with NFT projects and their communities to bring them value in return for their participation and input and also showcasing to traditional businesses how a shift in relationship dynamics can benefit them. It doesn’t have to be something they bristle at the thought of. A new customer relationship dynamic can be innovative and disruptive and exciting.

Web2 brands don’t have to stick to what has always been done, they can absolutely innovate and be a part of this movement if they’re willing to give over a bit of control to their audience — essentially by turning an “audience” into “community."

ONE37pm: This partnership comes as NFT trade volume hits a one-year low, and communities are hungry for utility. How has the Deadfellaz community responded and participated?

Betty: 2021 was the year of inception for most that launched projects back then. It was fast and furious, the speed we worked at. We were building in response to not only community sentiment but also the market and rapidly developing tech. It was wild.

2021 was about building a strong foundation and ensuring our community was strong, that it reflected the culture we wanted to perpetuate with Deadfellaz. This year, 2022, is where we’re building on that promise to further embed ourselves into Web2 while continuing to develop Web3 — I like to call it Web2.5.

“Utility” is a buzzword I’m not sure everyone truly understands when they say it. So far the only utility most have provided is wealth. This year we’re seeing actual tangible utility emerge through education, creator tools, and tech.

Builders have had a chance to get their heads down these past few months. You will see a lot more from us at Deadfellaz (as I’m sure we will see a lot from other projects) as the market starts to discover what has been worked on over the downturn. It's been a great opportunity to focus and create.

ONE37pm: How do you see Deadfellaz continuing to merge with the physical (and non-crypto) world in the coming months and years?

Betty: I see us continuing to facilitate Web2 brands to meaningfully adopt a Web3 ethos and shift the way business is done. I love the shift from considering consumers as a number, a group of statistics that is to be marketed to in a soulless stream of releases.

What we’re doing now is personal, it’s about knowing our community and creating to that, treating people as sovereign individuals, and embracing that as part of our brand. I see us spreading into all sectors of entertainment and media as a flagship example of how this can be done in a more decentralized way than has previously.

Deadfellaz has carved out its space in Web3 as a cornerstone of culture and community. We will do that in Web2 just as effectively.

ONE37pm: At ONE37pm, we’re all excited to see the release of the DF comic book strip (being comic book nerds ourselves). What can fans expect from the collaboration?

Betty: The strip has been released in segments so seeing it all together will be truly satisfying. Leon Lee (our concept artist at Deadfellaz) has knocked it out of the park. The power of storytelling is so far quite under-utilized in this space I feel.

Storytelling is who we are, it’s in our DNA as human beings — it’s how we connect. Using new IP to create stories with a legacy brand and our community directing the journey? That’s special. Just like the Goosebumps “Choose Your Own Adventure” books I used to read as a kid!

The comic is being placed within an LTD.INC chip that is inside the 20 pairs of ‘undead denim’ Wrangler created. They can be distributed by scanning the chip as a sort of POAP. The comic strip is essentially a collaboration between Deadfellaz, Wrangler, and the Horde.

It feels to me like heralding back to when you would have amazing artwork that came in the booklets of CDs—combining the digital and the tangible. I don’t know that an NFT community has helped create something like this before, but I really want to see this sort of thing continue.

Stay tuned to Deadfellaz and Wrangler socials for more announcements on the vintage jeans drop and digital comic strip.

You can learn more about LTD.INC and how they’re helping top artists, creators, and brands in web3 by staying up to date on Twitter.