The company today announced that it’s hopping on the NFT bandwagon and releasing its first collection of non-fungible tokens, which are unique digital assets recorded on a blockchain. 

The “gamified” launch will occur through Gap’s site and will take place in four stages over the next two weeks, with fewer NFTs released at each stage to increase their rarity. The digital collectibles, which will be on the Tezos blockchain and priced in its currency, tez, will start at the current equivalent of about $8 each. At what Gap calls the Rare level, it will release 1,000 NFTs for roughly $25 apiece. Buyers of those items will have the chance to purchase at the Epic level, which will see prices rise to more than $400 each for 100 NFTs featuring imagery by New York-based artist Brandon Sines, creator of the character Frank Ape. The release concludes on January 24 with the auction of a one-of-a-kind NFT.

The launch follows on other attention-grabbing efforts by Gap, including its long-term partnership with Kanye West and the recent announcement that Yeezy Gap will introduce items “engineered by” Balenciaga. The company has been looking for ways to revive the long-flailing brand, which slumped further in the pandemic and recorded sales 10% below 2019 levels in its most recent quarter. Its Yeezy releases have sold out and trade at a premium on the resale market but still make up a limited amount of Gap’s overall product.

The growing hype around NFTs, driven by high prices for rare jpegs of cartoon apes or assets such as digital sneakers, has led numerous fashion brands from Dolce & Gabbana to American Eagle to release their own. While it remains to be seen how those items will hold value in the long term, NFT releases have become a quick and relatively low-cost way for brands to grab attention amid the ongoing excitement around the metaverse.

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