Angel number 111 represents fresh starts and new beginnings, and maybe that’s what Bella Hadid had in mind when she dove headfirst into the metaverse. In collaboration with reBase, a metaverse social platform, the model is gearing up to present CY-B3LLA, an 11,111-piece collection of NFTs bearing her image. The capsule will be divided into 10 sub-collections of 1,111 each and distributed between 10 global cities.
In her NFT era —
Hadid gathered the assistance of 10 artists and web designers to design unique digital artworks using 3D scans of her body. She made the announcement late last month, and since then, over half a million people have joined the waitlist. Two of the NFTs have been revealed, including a bionic cyborg and a tied-up sexbot, meaning there are still plenty of souped-up, digitized Bellas to go around.
CY-B3LLA NFT holders will be granted access to a private Discord channel to connect with others in the database and eventually Hadid herself, who will “pop in” a few times a week. The second phase of the project, which is slated for the end of the summer, will allow holders to receive notifications for meet-and-greets when Hadid is in their city, beginning with Tokyo.
The supermodel’s interest in cyberspace couldn’t have been cultivated at a better time. What started as a gaming hobby for Hadid — stemming from a childhood of Mario Kart and stimulated through the pandemic — quickly turned into wanting to make herself an avatar, not just play with one.
Bella, your new BFF —
In an interview with Vogue, Hadid said the project wasn’t created for vanity or for fans to just have a piece of the model’s likeness, it was based on community. The project’s website says, “With recent tragedies such as wars and COVID-19 plaguing our world, we are forgetting how to communicate, love, appreciate, and care for each other.” Although it’s a reach for the team to expect world peace through Bella Hadid NFTs, they are attempting to “[revive] how we used to live.”
Celebrities who’ve tapped into the world of NFTs have garnered a reputation for using the medium as a shameless cash grab, but to Hadid “it’s so much bigger than that,” she told Vogue. “I want it to be a collective. It’s not a one-stop-shop — this is a real passion. I want to be used as a vessel for communication and respect and love.”
According to the CY-B3LLA timeline, the NFTs are being minted this month. Holders will receive access to the Discord channel into September, and the IRL meet-ups in the 10 different cities will take place in August. Through the rest of the year and into 2023, the first event for CY-B3LLA holders will feature NFT airdrops and access to Bella’s metaverse mansion, finishing off with CY-B3LLA game avatars. If ever you were looking for more content from Bella Hadid, the time is now.
