OTB's Maison Margiela, Marni and Jil Sander to be digitally certified

Italy's OTB Group is to provide products from the Maison Margiela, Marni and Jil Sander brands with a digital authentication certificate, which are to be introduced from each of the brands' AW24 collections.

Using blockchain technology and an NFC chip in each garment or accessory, the products will be verifiable as genuine branded products. The introduction of the technology will allow OTB to verify around 1.5 million products a year.

"This is an important step forward in OTB's innovation process as it allows us to ensure greater transparency, new ways of interaction and an increasingly high-profile experience for our luxury brands’ customers," said Stefano Rosso, member of the Aura Blockchain Consortium board and CEO of Marni, in a release

He continued: "The full adoption of blockchain technology and its integration into our production processes means we can respond quickly to any challenges and opportunities that future legislation may present us with."

Not only does integrating a digital certificate help combat counterfeit products, but blockchain technology also makes it easier to comply with legislation being implemented in the near future. This makes companies responsible for investigating their own production chain and addressing possible abuses.

The OTB Group is also the parent company of the brands Viktor&Rolf, Amiri and Diesel. A digital certificate of authenticity is not yet announced for these brands.

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.NL. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.