 Hey, everyone, welcome. It's Rachel Wolfson here with Cointelegraph. Thanks for joining us today for a very special AMA. It is our To The Moon NFT Collection AMA that we're doing today. And I'm joined by Marina Pizciola. She is the founder and partner of Art Consulting. Hi, Marina. She's here with us. She'll join us in a minute. Hi, Marina. Hi, Rasha. And like everybody, I am very happy to join you tonight. Thank you. Thanks for being here. I'm also joined by Elena Garitas. She is the CEO of DeFi Trends. Hey, Elena, how's it going? Hi, Rachel. Hi, Marina. So nice to see you both again here. And I'm the CFO, just a small correction. OK, CFO. Wonderful. Well, audience, I just want to let you guys know. Remember to drop your questions in the chat. Marina and Elena are here to answer those for you. And I'm really excited for this AMA today because it's all about the Cristobal Balenciaga to the Moon NFT Collection. So all of those digital fashion and fashion NFT fans. This is definitely the AMA for you guys. So let's just get started with the first question. What is the Cristobal Balenciaga to the Moon NFT Collection? Oh, the Cristobal Balenciaga to the Moon NFT Collection is an outstanding generative collection inspired by original Cristobal Balenciaga drawings made in Paris in the Glamorous 50s. We are reviews to thinking of Balenciaga as a brand, a brand of wonderful fashionable objects, clothes, shoes, bags. But Balenciaga was the name of Cristobal Balenciaga, a genial man who was born in Spain in 1895 and opened his atelier in Paris and revolutionizing the fashion world. We do not exaggerate when we say that this could be air actually invented the future of fashion. We must trust other giants of the fashion world such as Christian Dior or Coco Chanel who considered Balenciaga their master. Cristobal Balenciaga dressed the most beautiful women in the world from European nobility to Hollywood stars Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly and an amazing row of beautiful women. But why was Balenciaga absolutely revolutionary? We have to think that during the Second World War women were forced to work in factories and offices to do jobs that had been the monopoly of men until then. Therefore, the woman that Cristobal Balenciaga has in mind is a woman who is finally part of the working world. A man, a woman who needs to move easily, a woman who is a protagonist who has confidence in her possibilities who dares to wear clothes that she knows will make her the center of attention. Clothes like beautiful sculpture. And I suggest you to take a look to what is Envelope Dress by Balenciaga. A real sculpture for a body. Absolutely fantastic. Behind, so behind the Cristobal Balenciaga to the Moon there is an original collection of extraordinary original drawings. Wonderful. Elena, did you wanna add anything to that? About the collection. Marina, you did a great job explaining it. Yeah, because it's the double life of this collection. Yeah, Marina did. Well, before we go more into the collection, how about both of you explain? Oh, Elena, I think you cut off, but I wanted to ask you both to explain your roles with the collection. So Elena, maybe you can start being with DeFi trends just to explain what your role is with this collection. Exactly. Sorry, again. Yes, Marina, just hypothetically described is a valid influence on women's role is central piece of the NFT. And at DeFi trends, that's our main alignment to the mission. So we have a program called Women Who Defy where we're creating ambassador circles that elevate women into crypto as active participants, traders, creators. And for the NFT collection, we really wanted to bring that same energy and that same vision to the drop, to make it a socially aware job together with the rest of the partners. So we're the educational partner and we're hosting events and educational modules. For example, one of the ways that we're doing it is through brunches in Miami and the area surrounding it, where we're bringing influential women on to speak at panels, educating the people that are around and really push that equal representation that would make the drop, but all the crypto space as a whole even stronger and more resilient. Wonderful. And Marina, what is your role with this collection? As an art historian and critic, I am partner of our consulting and we are the curators of the outstanding and huge collection of original Cristobal Balenciaga drawings. This collection is owned by Lorenzo Riva. Lorenzo Riva is an Italian couturier who was an artistic director of the Meson Balenciaga in the, in 1980s and has put together this unique collection and I'd like to underline that this is a never seen before collection, never exhibited, never published. When we were entrusted with the correctorship of this collection and discover this treasure, we immediately realized its extraordinary potential, not only in the real world since definitely it's a museum level collection but also in the metaverse. Wow. So Marina, so just to highlight that this is a never before published collection and now they're becoming NFTs. Yeah, exactly. So she, it enters the metaverse before the real world. That's amazing. And I think that's how, that's the way we're moving in life nowadays. So this is a great example. I'm gonna take a few questions from the audience and actually this was going to be my next question. Everybody wants to know when will these NFTs be available to be purchased? So Marina or Elena, could you please answer that? Oh, oh, kidding. Yes, so there's not an exact date yet. So stay tuned for that to be released. In the meantime, we will really be building out the additional real life connections from the NFTs and the history behind it and what the NFT community will look like. So lots to explore before we get to the job. Right. Go ahead, Marina. Yes, I would like to underline that we are all doing an incredible team job in the creation of this NFT because they are not just beautiful, very well-detailed designs. They are the comic transcription of the lines, the shapes, the volumes of a great artist, Cristobal Balenciaga. So each one of us is doing our part and Art Vane is the fine art platform for NFT and Cointelegraph and CryptoCom and the fight trains and animal concerts as well. So we cannot reveal the exact date of the drop because we prefer to go very step by step and we are creating a fantastic community. We did it like this one, for example. And we'd love to be able to gap the bridge between the NFT, the Metaverse and the art and fashion lovers. So this takes a bit of time but we are in the phase of ready. So we are quite ready. Right, wonderful. Well, I guess the suspense is killing everyone. It's killing me, that's for sure because this is so exciting. So let's talk about the utility behind the collection because Maro Pi and other audience members are asking what are the benefits of these NFTs? So we're all curious about that. So Marina or Elena, could you just explain the utility please? Yeah, from my point of view, I'd like to underline first of all that 25 lucky purchaser of the NFT will also gain 25 physical version of original Cristobal Balenciaga drawings. So they will have one of the real drawing beside their NFT. And then these are just an example of the redeemables with this drop. There will be available five designer bags, five designer wallets, and 25, 500 designer gift cards and Noymar Marcus. So it's something, and this is the part of this special drop that it's not just for the makers but also for the real world. Yeah, that's important. I think it's a really important point that you bring up Marina because we're seeing that, what is it, Fidgibles, physical and digital NFTs? And I was actually, that was a question that I had about this collection because obviously I love Balenciaga. Like I would love an actual handbag with the collection. So that's a really good point you bring up. Yeah, wonderful. So I'm gonna take a few more questions from the audience here. Dania Rowe is asking, where can we purchase these NFTs? Elena or Marina, do you have any information on that at this moment? Elena, please. Yeah, so the NFT purchased on Crypto.com's NFT marketplace. So it's really easy to sign up. You just go to Crypto.com and NFT and Crypto.com is one of the partners as well in the NFT drop. So really facilitating it to make it accessible. Wonderful. I'm going to take another question from the audience and that's great. Keep those questions coming. This is wonderful. Okan Falami is asking, what's the connection between the NFTs and the metaverse? So Marina, you kind of touched on that a little bit, but can you kind of go more in depth there if you can? Yeah, so since this drop was conceived from a real collection, there is a deep link between what is in the real world and what is in the metaverse. So our job will be to offer the experience of a real double way experience in the real and NFT world. So I cannot spoil, of course, but I can say that you, for example, will be able to buy some wearables that you will be able to use in the metaverse. And then you will be able to bring with you in the real world other version of these wearables, wearing something special from the fashion world. So the link is very, very deep and intriguing. Yeah, I would love to see my avatar in the sandbox wearing or having a Balenciaga handbag. That's just so cool. Marina and Elena, I have a quick question. Can we talk a little bit about how this drop redefines fashion history? What, you know, how is this like, just, you know, what does this mean? And how is it pushing the boundaries of fashion? Good. I got something specific, but I think the redefinition of fashion through a drop like the Balenciaga drop closely aligns with where I see our society and general world moving to. So just like we talked about with the ability to have wearables in the metaverse, they've been studies shown that more and more people actually value their online presence more than, or think their online presence is more important than how people perceive them in their everyday life. And fashion has always been a way to express yourself and it's a way to express also what's going on in society right now. And I think we talked about that extensively, how Chris really reflected that with women coming to the workforce more back in the 70s. And so dropping in an NFT collection like this really builds a bridge between people that maybe are very involved in the fashion world, but not so much in the crypto space to have that entry point and experiment with the metaverse and experiment with NFTs and understand crypto as on a deeper level, especially with a few big retail brands also starting to accept cryptocurrency as payments. So it's just natural integration of these tools as we move to more online, to a more digital way of life. And that includes expression through fashion and maybe even more interaction. And of course, but with people being able to customize their digital wearables and contribute to a brand or a look in that very unique way. That's how I imagine it. And that's what I think is very creative and exciting. And just one of the many ways. Can I add the detail? Thank you very much, Elena, because you very well explained the concept of this drop. And I'd like just to remark that with this drop, hot couture of the Glamorous 50s enter into the metaverse. And I now speaking as, an art historian, a future that extended its roots into the past is definitely richer. So I see a great occasion in this link with the real drawings of this master of fashion. This master was able to invent the future of fashion. Now the fashion, the hot couture enter in the metaverse and so we can really see these renovation of fashion history. Right, yeah. And I think we've got a great question from the audience just kind of based on what you were saying, Marina. Romano is asking, how close are the NFTs to the original drawings? That's a great question. Sorry, I didn't understood the... How similar are the NFTs to the original drawings? Okay, that's actually a very nice question. We had another part of our role as art consultant and the curators of this collection was to help the designers of Cointelegraph to enter the cultural mood of this great master of fashion. And of course, it was very challenging because they had to find the right balance between the elegance of the original drawings and the powerful language of NFTs or otherwise to transcript in comics, the lines and shapes and volumes of Valesiaga. And I can say that this team job was really successful. And now we have a collection that mirror the original drawings but is completely different as well because is our lines and volumes by Cristobal but transcripted into the NFT languages, language and invented and created and brought to the bull. Not only, we have to know that the original drawings are in black and white. Instead, the NFTs have a brilliant colors. And so the designers were made an amazing word because they were able to take inspiration from some small pieces of fabric that Valesiaga pinned to the original drawings. And so taking inspiration from them, from those little pieces, they were able to invent these rainbow colors that is very brilliant in the collection of NFTs. That's extremely interesting. Marina, I have a follow-up question to that. Because a piece of fabric is associated with the original drawings that are in black and white, do the NFTs, the original drawings that are purchased, does the fabric come with that as well? Oh, yes, it could happen because these small pieces of fabric are not on every drawing but are on many drawings. So for sure, between the 25, there are also some of these with a little piece of history linked. That's amazing. That is incredible. Now, I also wanted to ask you, Marina and Elena, why were these pieces never released previously? I mean, it's like, yeah, go ahead, Marina. Yeah, I'm sorry, Elena, but this is a part of the story that perhaps you don't know. So sorry for invading your field. I'll let you speak until the end. This story is really weird and nice because Lorenzo Riva was the artistic director of Maison Balenciaga in 1980s and 1981 and two in Paris. And so the Maison suddenly changed hands and Lorenzo decided to return to Italy and open his own atelier. These drawings were about to be destroyed or get lost, but he loved them, he knew how precious they were also for the history of fashion and he was able to save them to keep them with him to Italy. And at the point, however, he decided to forget them. Why? Because his fear was that he would be crushed by the influence of this mythical couturier, Balenciaga. So after the wonderful experience in Paris, he strives to forget those drawings in order to develop his own lies, which is exactly what happened and Lorenzo Riva became a couturier with absolutely personal and unique lies. Many years ago, these designs literally remained buried in Riva's house until he meets my business partner, Romano Radasio, because they both live in the same city, Monza, the city of Formula One, where Romano is not in Dubai. And so Lorenzo Riva entrusted us with the care of his collection. At the beginning, he talked about just a few drawings, but when we discover this absolutely unique treasure, we find out that the drawings were more than 8,000. Wow, that's amazing. Such a cool story, Marina, thank you. I'm gonna take another question from the audience. A few people are asking this. So Rage Gear is asking, will these be available on secondary markets after the draw? Elena, go for it. Yes, they will be able to be traded like most, a lot of NFTs that you're familiar with on the crypto.com NFT marketplace. Okay, wonderful. I'll also take another question from Gold D. Roger. They're asking, what types of games are you planning to add in the future? And how do you plan to expand to non-crypto users? This is a really nice question, but it's quite unpredictable at the moment because we are working hard as we told. And we are many partners. Each of us is developing an aspect, but for sure, what the characteristic of this drop will be that it will be very, very inclusive. It means that we are going to touch game, are going to touch music with the field of animal concerts. This is the field of animal concerts. Animal concerts also is planning, perhaps to add something more. Again, I cannot spoil, but since they are working with a star like Alicia Keys, so we cannot predict exactly what will happen. For sure, a lot. Stay tuned. Yeah, and yeah, Marina, I want everyone to, I just want to point out animal concerts is a part of this as well, that's really important. There are multiple players involved with this NFT drop. So animal concerts, they do the concerts in the metaverse. So there's a lot of utility behind this. Elena, did you want to add anything to that question before I take another question from the audience, or did Marina kind of clarify that pretty well? I don't know if you wanted to add anything there. I think she clarified that, and just drawing back to the connection between bringing non-crypto people from the fashion world into this space as well. Definitely, yeah. Goldie Roger is also asking about the different types of NFTs, what are the characteristics to distinguish the rarity of each type of NFT, and is it possible to upgrade that NFT to a better NFT? Marina, I know you briefly talked about that, but maybe we can go more in depth if possible. There will be different types of NFT for sure, and because they will be, it will be possible to buy them in a mystery box. So these are just these two words can explain that there will be a real surprise and a mystery about this drop. And I am sure that there will be the chance to upgrade NFT because there will be different level, different kind, and for sure inside the community that is growing around this project, there will be possible to experience and to exchange, and I am sure that a big and a great occasion to get familiar with the NFT world will be offered to all of you. Yeah, it's also interesting to point out that this collection, it seems like the utility will be ongoing, will be continuous, rather than just being a beautiful piece of artwork associated with a potential physical object. It seems like the utility will continue, which is really important. I forgot to the question. I mean, did you want to add to that about the utility being continuous here? Okay. Marina. I think one thing that we haven't mentioned also is that all of the, any NFT holder that gets access to the NFT during the mint also gets access to the whitelists of any future collaborative NFTs from partners hosting this one. And that's really a ripple effect because each new NFT collection will have new utility. We've already mentioned the wearables, and that's going to be really exciting as more and more companies adopt a metaverse presence and we've already seen companies like Gucci have bought this in central land. So that is really an infinite possibility of more utility. We've already talked about the animal concerts, music events that NFT holders will get access to, especially during this year and then ongoing. There will always be new NFT holders for the different partners and the potential is really unlimited. And there's of course also the community aspect to it which evolves as the NFT evolves as well. Wonderful. Marina, do you want to add? Yeah, I think that actually these NFTs can be a way to invite into the metaverse also even the non-natives. Because of this special link with the past, with the something that can sound more familiar. I think that carrying the stylistic legacy of this great couturier, this fantastic couturier, make them less cold, less technical, more engaging and friendly. So I think that it will be like one of the beautiful women that Cristobal was created this dress. And I like for example to mention the Dukas of Windsor, the mythical Wally Simpson. So I think that many people could imagine a woman, a woman that's so, so friendly that come and by hand and bring you and accompany you to enter this award because metaverse is for all of us. It's not only for youngsters, it's not only for technological people, it's for people like you and me, people who love the real world, nature, books and culture. Right, wonderful. Those are all great points. We're getting a lot of questions from the audience. So I'm going to take a few of those. Let's see here. Nugin is asking, do you plan to tokenize assets other than digital artwork? How will you back these assets so that they acquire real value in NFT markets? Alayna, do you want to answer that one? Do we plan to tokenize assets other than digital artwork? So, go ahead. Yeah, did you have something to add? Oh, I was just going to say because right now that's what it is, it's artwork that is being tokenized. So was there anything else in store, I guess? Okay. Marina, Marina, Marina. I think that not only artworks, but also every kind of experience can be transformed and can be brought to the metaverse. So not only artworks, for example, concerts and musical music and whatever belongs to the human culture, for sure. This is just, we have to feel to ourselves like pioneers of the new frontier. And we are all called to live and experience a new dimension. And of course, it needs curiosity, but the curiosity is actually what adds the soul to life. Yeah, definitely. I'm gonna take another great question from the audience real quick. Stefan is asking, will we have a promotion of this collection in a fashion show event in the future? Will models wear the dress and other details that may be the same as the NFTs that will be released based on the drawings? That's a great question. Why not? I can say, why not? Thank you for the suggestion. But perhaps our designers are still working on this. So, Elia, it's very intriguing. And this is just can launch and enlighten something that the extreme, the wide array of chance and potentialities of this drop. Actually, because it's rooted into the real life, but it's the perfect bridge for the metaversa. So these back and forth from metaversa to real world is exactly what we are working to. Right. Go ahead, Elena. Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing is that I can absolutely imagine metaversa and fashion show with everyone wearing their avatars, wearing the new designs from the NFTs. And why not have that in real life as well? That would take a little bit more coordination, but I think it's impossible with a great community. Right, definitely. And it's, go ahead, Marina. Sorry. Sorry. I would like to emphasize one more thing. They are these NFTs truly collectibles. When we talk about the generative collection, it's not a collection where you simply change the color of the background or some colors or some lines, but we really have an extraordinary array of unique clothes inspired by Balenciaga. With Balenciaga to the Moon Collection, everyone has the chance to build their own mini fashion museum with the clothes that made the fashion history. I have a quick question, actually, that I was just thinking about. Why is it called to the Moon Collection? Marina, did you come up with that name? I cannot remember exactly who was the author of this name, but I think it was a collective idea. The idea was born from the fact that Cristóbal Balenciaga invented the future of fashion. So we had to underline this aspect and the image of the future for us all is the Moon. The Moon is the future, but at the same time, the Moon is the Queen of Night, is the reign of possibility of dreaming. And also, in this case, is the planet of feminine. And so we have finally a woman protagonist because the Moon is the only planet the man reached, but not the woman yet. So now we are ready to go to the Moon. Right, it's a very feminine collection, but I think that it will appeal to the mainstream into all genders. It will be a very diverse collection, but what I like is there's a lot of feminine undertones, which is wonderful because we really do need more of that in the crypto space. So I love to hear the story about the Moon, Marina. That was great, thank you. We've got a lot of questions coming in, so I'm gonna continue taking those. I'm seeing this question repeated a few times, so I'm gonna ask you ladies this one. Will these NFTs have utilities? Will they be stakeable for token rewards? I think a lot of the audience is really curious about staking, governance, all of that. So Marina, do you or Elena have any insight there or is that something that is to be revealed? So I'm always checking because of course that we have some zoom, we cannot spoil that. But I see that the audience is very well prepared and I can only see that they all have to be confident that we'll keep on surprise them, offering not only a simple drop because we are preparing much more, definitely much more. And linking to the question and the topic that you raise before Russia, that of women, I'd like to underline that this collection is really inclusive because it's not only, thanks to the unique elegance of Cristobal Balenciaga, because this NFT drop is for those who like fashion, is for those who like art, is for those who like music because of the contamination that thanks to animal concert, we are creating with the music world. And moreover, it contains an optimistic message because to the moon is the image of an optimistic view to the future, is an act of faith in the human kind. Right, and I also wanna emphasize, it will appeal to crypto users as well, obviously Cointelegraph is a partner on this drop along with animal concerts, DeFi trends, art consulting. So Marina, just going back to your point, we will see a lot of diversity in this drop because of the partners involved. I mean, to the moon, that also is a crypto terminology. And obviously with Cointelegraph being behind this project, that's gonna really, really appeal to those crypto natives which is wonderful because it's bringing the fashion world to the crypto world, which I love to see. Now, we have a few more minutes left, so I just wanna let the audience know, keep your questions coming. Before I answer those, I wanted to ask Marina and Elena, what can we expect next from this drop? Just moving forward. Elena, who would you like to start? Yeah, for sure. So as mentioned before, we'll continue to have educational sessions around the collection itself but also NFTs and how they are involved with the fashion industry. We have a branch coming up for anyone who is in South Florida region next week, I believe. And there we will have a panelist of amazing speakers. We'll have Twitter spaces discussing these topics and more updates to come about the roadmap. As Marina mentioned, there's a lot of surprises in store. So just keep attending the informational sessions, the Twitter spaces in person events if you can and starting to build that community because that is going to be the bedrock as well. So those are some of the most closest coming up events. Yeah, I'm sure that in reality, the more we wait, the more the community enlarge and they can experience different aspects of this drop and different chances that NFTs offer. NFTs are not for youngsters, are not for technical people, are for all people open to the future, open to experience something new for people who love beauty, art and fashion. So I repeat that again, stay tuned. Marina, yeah, both that's really good to know. And I wanted to ask one more question from the audience because I think this is really important. Richard is asking, who are the artists who created the NFTs and what expertise do they have? It's such a good question. Marina, do you have any insight there as to who the artists are? Yeah, I can only reveal that there is more than one artist because NFTs will be different. And so you will find different hand, different artist. And there will be like in a museum, like in an art exhibition, you will enjoy and collect different NFTs from by different artists because each of them will have a specific and unique signature. Wonderful. Well, ladies, we are running out of time. Before we sign off, how can the audience get in touch with you and just continue following the to the moon drop? I'm sure everyone's curious about that. So Marina, how could they be in touch with you? I'll let you go first. We are, in all the website, in each website of the partner, Cointelegraph, Art Consulting, CryptoCom, Animal Concert, The Fight Trends, we are all providing a lot of information and we love to update you about all the initiatives linked to this drop. So again, I think that now it's enough to digit Balenciaga to the moon and the internet will give you the chance to have as more information as you want. Elena, is there a Discord group maybe or you're a Twitter handle as well? Elena, can you let us know? I think the best thing is, in addition to what Marina just said about the website, also following on Twitter, and we can post all of the links. I think the best is to post them all in one place instead of spelling it out on audio, but I would say Twitter and website are the best ways to stay in contact. Yeah. And sorry, and the best way is of course to get what listed. This is the best way to have a specific and personal invitation and information very specifically. So if you like, get white listed. So you will be between the few or many people of a ready, steady and go. Definitely. And obviously follow Cointelegraph because we're gonna have coverage on this drop each step of the way since we are involved. And because we're out of time, I just wanna say thank you again to Marina and Elena. You ladies have been wonderful. This has been so inspirational. I'm really looking forward to this drop. Audience members, you guys have been great. Thank you for being so interactive and for all of your questions. We really appreciate it. And just a reminder, subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can join us next time. And yeah, we are out of time. So with that, I'm just going to say goodbye. Marina and Elena, take the time to say goodbye to everyone. And yeah, this has been wonderful. Thank you to all of you. Thank you, Rachele. Thank you, Elena. Thanks, everyone. Have a great day and have a great night. Bye. Thanks. Bye. Bye-bye.