Vera Bradley’s NFTs seek to educate women and fund breast cancer research

Vera Bradley is stepping into the metaverse and bringing its floral bags, too. Dubbed The World of Vera Bradley, the digital space aims to educate women on web3 and provide a home for the brand’s NFTs. Benefits also extend offline, as proceeds from the second NFT collection will go to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

The first round of NFTs, which will debut during New York Fashion Week in September, will highlight the brand’s 40th anniversary. “Heritage Pass” NFTs feature digital renditions of Vera’s now-retired Jilly Bag in four archival prints. A total of 440 Heritage Passes will be available for purchase, and each token comes with a physical, limited-edition Jilly Bag.

Customers won’t be able to choose which of the four prints they’ll get, but the brand hopes that’ll be a welcomed element of surprise. Those that can secure a bag and NFT from the first drop will also have prioritized access to the second round of NFTs slated to release in October.

Forty years of Vera — The second NFT project, named the 1982 Collection, is centered around the brand’s founding year. A total of 1,982 generative artistic backgrounds will make use of 40 archival prints from the brand’s history. According to the project’s website, “the original Vera Bradley prints and signature pink NFTs will be the rarest in the collection, but every Vera Bradley NFT is rare.” Keeping the theme going, each NFT will be priced at $19.82 with 100 percent of net proceeds going to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

Through the web3 venture, Vera Bradley hopes it’ll be a stepping stone for women who want to learn more about crypto and NFTs. It also emphasizes how digital assets can be a strong tool for fundraising. “With the launch of the World of Vera Bradley and our first NFT collections, we will create an authentic and connected community of digital asset holders through innovation, vision, and a consumer-first approach,” Jennifer Bova, VP of Marketing, said in a press release. “This is another experience to strengthen Vera Bradley’s sisterhood.”

Vera’s Heritage Passes will be priced at $82 each and go on sale on September 14. The 1982 Collection’s presale will open on October 1, and a public sale will follow on October 3. Both can be found on the World of Vera Bradley website and purchased with a credit card or ETH.