Blk Dnm is entering a new stage of its relaunch with an acquisition.
The Swedish American fashion label, which relaunched in February as a luxury label, has been acquired by blockchain technology company ChromaWay. Terms of the deal, which involves full ownership, were not disclosed.
This is ChromaWay’s first acquisition in the fashion industry. The company, which was founded in 2014, develops and works with blockchain technology platforms.
“We share that we want to make something that is completely new on the market,” said Henrik Hjelte, chief executive officer and cofounder of ChromaWay. “I think that fashion is an industry where you can invent quite a lot so we wanted to try out this concept to breach the digital world and the physical world and that’s this concept of connected fashion that we’re now working with Blk Dnm on. In order to innovate quite a lot in this sector, I think it can be strategic for us to actually have a majority ownership in a company and be able to grow fast.”
On the concept of “connected fashion,” Hjelte further emphasized the connection of the physical and digital worlds and stated it’s a way to “bridge physical garments with digital garments.”
While Hjelte and Blk Dnm CEO Toni Collin were mum about how ChromaWay’s technologies will be integrated in the fashion brand, the acquisition is expected to integrate blockchain capabilities into Blk Dnm’s strategy and products. Blk Dnm is slated to reveal details of the technology prior to its next collection’s release.
“Physically and aesthetically, it’s not doing any impact to us,” Collin said about the impact of the acquisition. “It’s still going to be the beautiful clothing that we design today and tomorrow, but it will add another layer we think, especially when it comes to the community and the way we can communicate with our fanbase so to speak. It’s adding another layer, but it’s not going to change. Blk Dnm is just going to be Blk Dnm. We’re not building two separate brands — It’s one brand.”
The acquisition follows Blk Dnm’s relaunch, when the brand unveiled its new “entry luxury” positioning with the release of its women’s and men’s fall 2023 collection designed under creative director Jessy Heuvelink.
Prior to the relaunch, Blk Dnm was a midmarket label. The relaunch brought on Heuvelink, a new logo, an elevated aesthetic and new retail strategy. Collin stated the brand retails in Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s in the U.S., in addition to specialty retailers and other department stores globally.