From the catwalk to the metaverse: Bella Hadid in 3D and 4K shows what virtual reality can look like
Supermodel Bella Hadid, in cooperation with the platform that builds metaverse – reBASE – has decided to release her NFT series under the name CY-B3LLA. The buzz about the project began to grow as soon as the first information was published on the model’s official Instagram account. In less than a month, CY-B3LLA’s social media gained more than 16,000 followers, and the number continues to grow. The reasons that made the project extremely popular and positively received will be described below, but it is worth mentioning that a similar collaboration simply hasn’t been done before, which gives it the status of a pioneer paving a new way in the market. Observation of the entire process will allow us to assess opportunities and threats when introducing similar ideas in the future.
General description of the project
CY-B3ELLA is a collection of 11,111 NFTs scattered across 10 different locations belonging to 10 countries in the real world. From July to September, every seven days, new locations will be announced on the site. The first, and currently the only one, is Tokyo, and the series was inspired by robotics, manga, shibari, cosplay, sakura and minimalism – some of the attributes of Japan, according to the authors. Each NFT is a unique 3D scan of Bella Hadid. The idea behind CY-B3LLA was to build a community to celebrate fashion, art, technology, women in web 3, community and culture.
Aesthetics and details
Hadid brought together 10 artists and web designers to create unique digital artworks using high-quality 3D scans of her body. Each work is in 4K resolution, allowing even the smallest details of the virtual Bella to be visible. To achieve this effect, the technology used in creating characters for some top AAA games (that is, games with the highest production budgets) was used. The help of world-renowned people working behind the scenes in the fashion industry was also brought in, by Raisa Rai Flowers – an experienced makeup artist who accompanies Vogue cover stars, and whose work reflects inspiration from 1990s themes and by Evanie Frausto – a hairstylist and artist at the same time, who is well known in the world of hairdressing, having almost 70,000 followers on Instagram.
The creators of CY-B3LLA also point out that this is the first NFT collection to take full benefit of the lighting concept. Versions of the same NFT are available, where only the hue and the intensity of the light changes. There are “day”, “night”, “special 1” and “special 2” graphics (the last two are in red and blue lighting). Each NFT is individually designed, as opposed to being based on an algorithm.
Benefits of owning CY-B3LLA
- Access to a private membership club that will host exclusive events with Bella Hadid in the real world and online.
- Enabling collaboration between brands with Bella Hadid.
- Creation of CY-B3LLA’s DAO.
- Ability to take part in games organized in the reBASE app.
- Access to a private channel on Discord, where a few times a week users might have the opportunity to meet Hadid.
- Access to Bella Hadid’s villa in the reBASE metaverse.
- Receiving avatars for the games in the form of CY-B3LLA.
What’s next
According to the official Roadmap, in the third quarter of 2022, reBASE will release its app, on which token minting will be possible. In the same timeframe, the CY-B3LLA DAO will be created.
In July there will be a minting of NFT 11,111, on the aforementioned reBASE application (currently only giving the opportunity to purchase virtual lots, which do not apply to CY-B3LLA at all). At this point, there is no information on specific dates, and no feedback is sent after signing up for the whitelist as someone willing to purchase CY-B3LLA. Consequently, to get NFT, we are left with watching the official social media of the project, where information on specific activities should appear in due course.
Between July and early September a private channel on Discord for CY-B3LLA owners will be created. During the same period, a new location inspired by the developers will be revealed every week. Each of them covers 1,111 NFT.
In August, there will be the first event for CY-B3LLA holders with Bella Hadid, as well as airdrops that still remain a mystery.
In the last quarter of 2022, token holders will get access to Bella Hadid’s virtual villa on the reBASE platform.
Who is Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid is a supermodel, entrepreneur and designer, born in Los Angeles and raised in the United States. She has worked in the industry since childhood and is now one of the most popular models in the world. She has walked the runway for many designers, including Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy and Valentino. She has earned “The Big Four,” that is, appearing on the covers of the four most prominent editions of Vogue (American Vogue, British Vogue, Vogue France and Vogue Italia), which is considered the greatest achievement in the fashion world. She has a record-breaking fan base – her official Instagram is followed by more than 53 million people. Bella’s net worth is valued at $25,000,000.
What is reBASE
It’s a blockchain-based platform (formerly known as DROPP) that uses geolocation technology to connect the real world with virtual and augmented reality technologies using the blockchain. In order to understand the potential opportunities of having CY-B3LLA (as well as other NFTs that will work with reBASE), it is necessary to familiarize oneself with the reBASE components, described briefly below.
reBASE 2D – Find2Earn APP
The reBASE 2D module is a geolocation tool for encrypting NFTs and real-time locations. It allows users to create their own NFTs and place them on the map in real-world locations. It should be noted here that the very essence of reBASE is the use of geolocation, so that, for example, when you create or buy an NFT on their platform that is located in Tokyo, it will actually also be visible in their virtual “Tokyo”, which is based on the one we know in reality.
NFTs can be added using those available in our reBASE wallet, or created through their app, and then placed in the location of your choice on the world map. ReBASE notes that it will be possible to limit NFTs to a particular location, giving the opportunity to purchase only to those who are physically in that particular area. Given that CY-B3LLA announces a new location for its series every 7 days, it might be assumed that it would use this option during the July minting, but announcements end at the end of August, so this opportunity was not used.
Creating NFTs in reBASE will involve adding files stored on the mobile device. Once the image is added to the map, the app will automatically create an NFT from it based on Solana’s blockchain thanks to the built-in wallet. The user will set the price at which he or she would like to sell such an NFT, and others will be able to buy it using the app’s built-in aforementioned wallet.
Currently, tokens are created using the Metaplex protocol, supported by the Solana network.
Find2Earn, a breakthrough in NFT acquisition
One of the features of the app, is the ability to turn the NFT acquisition process into a game suspended in augmented reality. Developers will be able to scatter their NFTs across the map using AR and geolocation technology. This means that reBASE users will, for example, physically move around in the real world, locating and tracking the NFTs they want to obtain. The form of the game depends only on the creators’ creativity and technological capabilities. So we can imagine a scenario where we compete with someone around, let’s say, Krakow wearing AR lenses (or simply with a phone in hand) to get a selected NFT, which is hidden somewhere on the outskirts of the city.
The project involves rewarding users with proprietary $reBASE tokens and other NFTs when they earn NFTs through such real-world activities. ReBASE is still in the process of developing the above model and has not yet announced specific reward values or dates for enabling this form of minting, but it is worth keeping their platform in mind.
reBASE LAND – METAVERSE
The module, available with the web application, allows us to purchase virtual lots as NFTs, the counterparts of which can be found in the real world. We can literally buy a virtual neighborhood in Los Angeles and become its owner. The land parcels are divided according to size, which you can read more about here.
Land owners are given the opportunity to stake reBASE tokens on their land, the number of which will be correlated with the size of their land. The larger the lot, the more space for tokens. As the project, by design, wants to combine the real and virtual worlds, the objects that will be created in 3D will be attached to the map and visible around us when we get access to augmented reality, such as when we put on AR glasses. The platform has a plan to add a new city and neighborhoods to the above map every month. The entire community will participate in the above process through votes on the platform.
reBASE 3D – AUGMENTED REALITY
The 3D AR module allows users to create 3D models that can be displayed both in the virtual 3D space available in the web app and in real space as AR objects using iOS and Android mobile devices. Creation of the objects will be done in two ways: by manually importing the 3D works made into the reBASE app or purchasing them in the app. Once added, they will be automatically converted to NFT so they can have their own value on the platform. All models will be able to be combined and juxtaposed in lots in reBASE LAND so that a unique space structure can be achieved. We will be able to see this in the virtual space of the city on the website or in the real world thanks to AR technology.
Each 3D object will become an NFT created on the Solana network, and all the data concerning it, will be saved on the Arweave network.
In the virtual space, it will be possible to explore the entire city map: for example, to see buildings belonging to our neighbors or well-known brands. It will be possible to access these places with the appropriate NFT or by paying the required amount, which will be transferred to the owner’s account.
The same will be done in real space thanks to AR technology, with the difference that users will see real buildings and real people next to them.
It is worth mentioning that the aforementioned Arweave network is considered the best decentralized database to date, which is intended to allow the permanent storage of unlimited amounts of information.
Technology
- For the 3D module, reBASE uses SceneKit, Metal (iOS) and Filament, Volkan (iOS) technology.
- For AR, the technology is ARKit for iOS and ARCore for Android.
- For areas covered by iOS mapping, the developers use ARKit’s GeoAnchors location assignment technology, and for areas not covered by mapping and not supporting this technology, they created their own solution that uses a combination of the standard ARKit library, GPS location, gyroscope and accelerometer.
How does the potential of reBASE compare to CY-B3LLA?
Referring to the data on the CY-B3LLA homepage, it is impossible to know exactly how this project will develop. We can find there information about the “Cyber Gala” that will take place online, its foundation and values, and the fact that we will be reborn there in the form of our purchased CY-B3LLA.
However, we won’t find any specific links between this idea and the Roadmap, so we have to rely here on the capabilities of the reBASE platform, which at this point, doesn’t give access to, at least, a beta version, where we could use our CY-B3LLA in any way (e.g. appearing at the event in this form). ReBASE commits to the amazing innovations I described above, but in their whitepaper, you won’t even find a roadmap with specific dates (actually, the section is just blank).
The project, despite the future possibilities of reBASE, does not promise anything specific, but mainly ideas and benefits typical of NFT projects (access to private events, collaborations, a Discord, etc.). Therefore, depending on how exactly the reBASE platform develops and whether it is an actual reflection of its whitepaper, this project might either be one of many or the first in its field.
