Options include creating tamper-proof packaging that could be tracked, devising serial numbers or closely monitoring the transportation of materials or products from one stage to another. All of those practices would, gradually, create perfect data that could eventually make it more difficult for unwanted or illegal additions to be introduced into the system.

Other ways the platform could be used include facilitating greater and more transparent communication between creators and consumers, as well as cutting out middlemen to allow for more direct payments and licensing transactions. At one stage, Mr. Lubin suggested, blockchain might even result in designers and brands sending digital design prototypes directly to consumers, allowing them to manufacture or 3-D print the styles. It could also help small, independent designers who feel their work has been plagiarized by big brands to verify their claims that they conceived of the idea first.