On April 27, the American multinational toy manufacturing company Mattel will introduce a peer-to-peer marketplace that enables users to purchase and sell their NFTs from one another directly.
In order to create its marketplace, the well-known toy brand that produces Hot Wheels, Barbie and Fisher-Price franchises joined forces with several leading companies in Web3.
Among the partners that helped establish the marketplace was Rarible, one of the leading NFT marketplaces and infrastructure providers. With the support of Rarible, Mattel build its P2P NFT marketplace using layer-1 blockchain Flow.
Mattel Future Lab’s VP Ron Friedman said that Mattel Creations aims to offer “an unrivaled, best-in-class experience for the fans of Mattel’s iconic brands.” He also emphasized that the P2P marketplace represents a significant advancement toward achieving this goal.
The company announced the platform’s initial release was Series 4 of the Hot Wheels NFT garage. The collection included 30,000 packs and sold out under 12 hours after its debut.
Mattel began the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series in the summer of 2021. They first launched it on the WAX blockchain but eventually moved to the digital collectibles platform on the Mattel Creations website by November 2022.
The fifth series of Mattel’s renowned Hot Wheels NFT Garage will be available in $25 packs. The latest collection includes various options, such as McLaren, Pagani, Aston Martin and some classic Hot Wheels cars. In addition, if a collector acquires specific uncommon models, they may be qualified to receive a tangible die-cast version.
The El Segundo-based company positions its NFT platform as one that caters to the mainstream public and therefore does not require cryptocurrency to make transactions. Magic, a wallet-as-a-service provider for Mattel, offers “fiat on-ramps” to integrate new users into cryptocurrency.
The firm has procured additional NFT collections such as Cryptoys and Boss Beauties x Barbie. The company has also revealed that its second Barbie NFT series collection will be launched in May.
Barbie enters metaverse
In addition to the NFT collections, Barbie had already moved into the metaverse. In September 2022, Mattel Creations partnered with luxury fashion brand Balmain to launch a ready-to-wear fashion and accessories collection alongside digital artwork.
Barbie and Balmain teamed up to launch three one-of-a-kind NFTs featuring unique Barbie and Ken avatars. Balmain’s designs were used to style each avatar and a collection of Barbie-sized Balmain clothing was created for both physical and digital art collections.
The online NFT auction took place on mintNFT, offering buyers a chance to be part of fashion history in the virtual world, and the NFTs were exclusively available on Mattel Creations.
President and chief operating officer of Mattel Richard Dickson said that the collaboration between Barbie and Balmain was a new milestone in the toy and fashion industries.
He added that Balmain, known for its innovative and joyful approach to fashion, has been the ideal partner to interpret Barbie’s iconic image in a contemporary digital and physical art form under the creative director Olivier Rousteing.
About their collaboration, Rousteing shared his thoughts on the collection, which features the iconic and nostalgic Barbie logo and packaging from the 1990s. He also highlighted the multicultural, inclusive and joyous journey that Barbie and Balmain embarked on.
Rousteing collaborated with the Balmain team to create a collection of more than 50 pieces that combined Barbie and Balmain’s unique characteristics, including the marinière and Labyrinth patterns.
He further explained that they built upon Balmain’s recent New French Style collections, highlighting the diverse and captivating beauty found on the streets of Paris. He said the collection was almost “100% unisex.”
The ultimate aim of this collection was to create a society free from stereotypes. This collaboration allows fans to change clothes between Ken and Barbie.
