Huda Kattan on NFTs: ‘I’ve not been this excited about a space since the launch of social media’

Have you noticed that Huda Kattan’s display picture on her Instagram is now an avatar? The Beauty Boss always has her eye on the next big trend in the industry — whether it’s through launching her own clean beauty line Wishful just before the pandemic hit or making an investment into The Luxury Closet, a leading preowned digital high fashion platform in this region, through Huda Beauty Investments. She is amongst the growing number of entrepreneurs looking at non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

It all started for her through her husband — and now she is hooked, as you can tell from her social media accounts. She recently released a YouTube video called, ‘Easy Ways to Understand NFTs’. For Kattan, NFTs are an easy way for women to gain financial independence, if they understand how to invest in it. One of the strongest advocates of the virtual world in this region, she talks about her interest in this space and what the future holds.

Edited excerpts from an interview:

How did you first get into NFTs?

My introduction to NFTs was about seven months ago when my husband started purchasing them. I was sceptical at first because I didn’t really understand the utility of NFTs, but once I was gifted my first piece, I became enthralled with the world of NFTs. As I learned more and dug deeper, I became more and more interested in getting involved with NFTs and sharing what I’ve learned along the way with my community.

You mention that women can empower themselves financially through NFTs — do you feel they are easier to understand than stocks?

To some extent, yes. They’re just very different. I think right now, people are comparing them to stocks because they’re both a type of investment. But NFTs are very different. Stocks have so many things that can affect their value. There’s a public perspective, there’s also the financial health of the business. There are a lot of different factors when it comes to stocks but NFTs are community-based. I think they can be easier to get into because the space is still new and there’s so much information on Twitter and on YouTube about them. So, you can definitely feel a connection to it and learn more.

I believe you have asked your husband to give you NFTs only. Tell us about this idea and what is the most special NFT he has gifted you?

I didn’t tell him to do that, he did that on his own because he is a brilliant man and he understands how important both aspects are. NFTs can be given as gifts that could have a lot of meaning behind them and they can also be assets. My favourite NFT he has ever given me is created by an artist who is an elderly woman. She was creating NFTs as a tribute to her parents who had passed and had a great love story. And she designed an NFT that was actually a recreation of a gift her father had given to her mother, and my husband gifted it to me for Valentine’s Day. He’s been gifting me NFTs since my birthday in October. He even gave me my first World of Women piece and she looked like me. I definitely think it’s a special thing. It’s an asset, it’s a gift. And it’s really so much more than that.

How many NFTS do you own?

I own more than 200 NFTs. I bought a couple of World of Women pieces a little bit earlier, so, I was fortunate enough to get into the projects before they took off.

You work closely with many NFT platforms — tell us which ones and how do you decide?

As far as the platforms I purchase from are concerned, I typically use Open Sea. It’s not my favourite platform to purchase from but it’s the largest marketplace. There are some other ones that are becoming more interesting, such as LooksRare. But right now, as far as platforms are concerned, it’s kind of monopolised by Open Sea, since it’s the one that most people buy and sell from. I’ve bought and sold from both Open Sea and LooksRare.

Tell us more about the collections you buy?

I’m a little bit weird about the collections I buy and I don’t buy the ones that everyone likes. The collection that I’ve really gotten into is World of Women. I do love them. I love Dead Fellas, which I think is really cool. When I’m looking at art, it has to speak to me. I don’t like art that’s overcomplicated. Even if it’s beautiful, I prefer it when it’s simpler. I like some type of representation and some type of cultural movement. I like when they feel culturally relevant, which I think is very important. I also have to care about the founder. The founder is really important to me. For Dead Fellas, the founder is this mother who has three kids and there were so many parts of her story that resonated with me. I love to hear stories about artists who are not necessarily super successful or famous but have a mission or are trying to show the world that everybody has a chance.

How have NFTs affected the beauty business?

They have not yet affected the beauty business a lot. Beauty businesses are trying to play around in the NFT space, but I don’t believe that they know what they’re doing just yet. I don’t believe anybody really knows what they’re doing with NFTs. People are just trying things and seeing what happens. I think we still have some time to figure it out. Hopefully, we’ll see some things happen probably later this year and next year as well.

Will Huda Beauty come out with an NFT soon?

We’ve been thinking of ways to incorporate NFTs into the business, but don’t have any concrete plans just yet. So, watch this space!

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai