AMBUSH® SILVER FCTRY

We’ve been busy in the lab since the beginning of the year and we’re back with another addition to our Dreamwave portfolio, this time in the form of a spaceship microverse.

In late 2021 we were approached by the well-known and forward-thinking style icon AMBUSH®. We jumped at the opportunity and quickly aligned on a vision, beginning a collaborative project that bridges the gap between fashion and technology.

On March 14, 2022, the designer streetwear brand launched SILVER FCTRY, a fashion-centric metaverse experience built by our Dreamwave team. Aboard this stylized spaceship, visitors from across the world can immerse themselves in the ethos of the Tokyo-based label and connect with the brand in new ways.

The SILVER FCTRY is inspired by Andy Warhol’s forward-thinking Silver Factory, a creative studio that birthed the 1960s pop-art movement, and builds on the brand’s Reboot and Energon NFT releases.

This microverse offers a virtual space where people can interact with each other and enjoy the AMBUSH® universe through ongoing events, exclusive collections, and interactive games. The SILVER FCTRY only takes flight when celebrating milestone moments for the brand, each expanding on the last.

(BRIEF) Blueprints for a Rocket Ship

Like Warhol’s tin-foil-covered Factory, we were given the task to create a destination that represents the future of AMBUSH® and its entry into new dimensions while also paying homage to the past. The goal was to build a space to serve as the virtual HQ for AMBUSH. An evolving epicenter where the brand’s designers and community members can come together. A place where people from all walks of life can connect, shop, and play.

(APPROACH) Enter Dreamwave
Our approach was to utilize our Dreamwave platform and take advantage of tools we’ve built on over the past two years. Like previous projects, we wanted to give the users an avatar based experience and include features that encourage socializing.

We also wanted the virtual space to be as accessible as possible so we relied heavily on webGL, allowing users to enjoy the microverse anywhere they have an internet connection and a browser. We currently optimize web-based projects for Safari 15/16 and Android 9/10+. Additionally, we supported Metamask’s in-app mobile browser for this experience.

People using devices as old as an iPhone8(?) can still enjoy the experience in real-time with friends using desktop computers.

A controllable avatar is the core component of the experience, letting the user run, jump, and dance their way through the SILVER FCTRY. If you want to relax and watch the Milan AW22 Fashion Show in the Odeum or Park, simply stay idle and the avatar will sit down after ?_? minutes. By default, the user begins in 3rd person perspective but the option to switch to a 1st person POV or an aerial flyover is also available.

Creative Concepts
From 2001: A Space Odyssey to James Turell Ganzifled’s lightscapes, we were given a range of inspirational references to consider. We needed to balance all these visual elements in order to deliver an experience aligned with AMBUSH’s vision.

Character Design
The avatars draw inspiration from some of our favorite tech-suits including TRON(?) and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Their retro yet futuristic design reflects the balance between old and new seen throughout the SILVER FCTRY. Sleek and minimal yet dynamic and colorful.

Lobby
Landing in the AMBUSH® SILVER FCTRY, users find the station lobby with white walls, floors featuring light up paths, and large windows. Posters for AMBUSH events line the walls while red and white furniture inspired by Italian designs from the ’60s and ’70s give the space an interstellar lounge feel.

Four hallways extend from the shuttle’s central landing zone, each leading to a unique area to explore. A quick stroll following the neon arrows on the floor will lead the user to a portal labeled with the destination.

Library
Functioning as a museum for the brand, the Library is a place to explore the archives of past collections and collaborations through interactive screens. Content appears only as users approach, encouraging exploration and interactivity. Users can go back in time through the history of AMBUSH®, encountering a range of collaborations from Nike and Astro Boy to Moët and Beats. The Library, along with the other three spaces, changes color in real time based on Japan Standard Time. During the day it features an orange hue, contrasting with the sterile white of the SILVER FCTRY’s lobby hallways. Almost brain-like in function and design, the Library serves as a central point for AMBUSH® to communicate its past, present, and future.

Park
The Park is a surreal outdoor concept free from the harsh realities of the real world. Users are invited to explore the hillsides which feature a mix of cartoon-like elements and classic design motifs from the brand. During their exploration they will encounter giant mushrooms, fairytale-esque vines, and waterfalls. Various AMBUSH® jewelry pieces are blown up into giant chrome replicas and mixed throughout the scenery. Only users who held an AMBUSH® NFT in their wallet could see the invisible bridge extending from island to island. The Park removes the restraints on creativity, offering an escape from the ordinary and a journey down the rabbit hole.

Odeum
Inspired by the works of James Turell Ganzfield, the massive Odeum creates a feeling of floating with its intentional use of space and unique lighting illusions. The experience of moving through the Odeum is a relaxing one, almost like a leisurely swim. At one end of the vastness, users encounter a large theater screen — displaying footage from the Autumn-Winter 2022 Collection Show, first presented at Milan Fashion Week in late February, 2022. The Odeum is adorned with mirrored cubes, each reflecting the visuals from the screen like a fashion show kaleidoscope. Users can run up to the screen until it envelops their view, as if entering the runway for themselves.

Workshop
The Workshop is modeled after the actual interior of the brand’s latest physical store, AMBUSH®️ Workshop in Shanghai. This virtual environment acts as a web3 store offering physical merchandise and rare NFTs. Similar to the physical Workshop, the SILVER FCTRY Workshop incorporates elements like a giant video sphere, furniture, textured concrete walls and a green carpet. It balances design and function, giving it a modern yet industrial feel. In the center of the store on display is the POW!® ENERGON, AMBUSH®’s first NFT and an important symbol for the brand.

Highlights
The integration of Metamask was a first for Dreamwave and a project highlight. Connecting your wallet will allow you to view a preview of your AMBUSH specific NFT’s. Users who have certain AMBUSH NFTs in their MetaMask wallet will have access to private events, an exclusive avatar color flair, and limited physical merchandise.

One feature we added to encourage socializing was giving users the ability to engage in audio conversations by simply walking up to another user. We incorporated proximity bubbles combined with a ‘Yes/No?’ CTA button as a way to begin conversations. Users must be close enough to each other and agree to chat before being able to use their mics. Users can also start a “Watch Party” to chat with up to 10 participants, no matter where they are within the SILVER FCTRY. This approach allows for a level of interactivity that we feel standalone livestreams and text chat rooms lack. It gives the SILVER FCTRY more life and expression.

One of our favorite parts of this project was adding dance moves. Using the numbers 1–6 on your keyboard will prompt 6 unique moves. A highlight of this project was watching users express themselves throughout the events, especially during impromptu dance parties.

Since its initial launch in March, the SILVER FCTRY has been utilized to promote collaborations with other brands during significant events like Coachella Music Festival 2022. It is an ongoing and evolving space to be revisited by fans and consumers alike.

Conclusion
We want to thank AMBUSH® and all of the fashion-forward space cadets that joined us in the AMBUSH® SILVER FCTRY. Until our next takeoff — live long and prosper. 🖖

www.ambushsilverfctry.io