Metaverse Fashion Week
Courtesy of Vogue
Written By: Makena Ruggia
Fashion week is here, for the metaverse that is! Metaverse Fashion Week (or MVFW) debuted on March 23, 2022, with a collection from firms Perry Ellis, IKKS, Christine Massarany, Dolce&Gabbana, Estée Lauder, UNXD, DressX, and many more. Notably, however, Gucci and Ralph Lauren creatives did not participate despite having a large following in the virtual space for digital fashion. The potential for these powerhouses to participate in the future is there as the MVFW gains more traction in the fashion industry. Traditional designers and virtual designers alike collaborated to create a space to explore more avenues of expression freely. The event used blockchain technology and sold NFTs of collections and land.
Traditional notions of fashion are being discarded in the metaverse space, with model avatars breaking the human mold. Every androgyny designer’s dream is to create pieces that disregard the binary, and the metaverse is becoming the perfect way in which one can accomplish this goal.
Some designers released NFTs of modeled outfits that could be purchased to customize an avatar in the metaverse. Self-expression in the metaverse has many more possibilities than in reality, so designers are able to get more creative with their customizations. Some designers also decided to stick with sleek, reality-like looks for their models like Jonathan Simkhai, a designer based in California.
Vogue Business reported on the highlights of the week in an article released on March 29, 2022. Vogue noted that for doubters of digital fashion, “the end result [of Decentraland’s programming] can be underwhelming, and thus those who aren’t evangelists of digital fashion might find it off-putting and could be turned off from other events in the future.”
LinkedIn’s fashion community chimed into the conversation as well, remarking that it looked “from the 90s” in animation. The graphics may not have been stellar in the first exhibition and particularly in Decentraland, but they will improve over the years as more graphic designers are hired to program or another metaverse firm picks up the project.
As far as the actual show goes, there were many highlights that wouldn’t be possible in the real world. First, Dolce&Gabbana had actual cats as models instead of people. Models for UNXD were able to fly after walking out of flowers. There were light shows, afterparties, and dance battles in which an avatar could play any programmed dance. One show even had a meteor shower which threw wearable items.
Besides the obvious glitches and underwhelming graphics, there is potential for growth in the fashion industry with the metaverse. Considering video games using NFTs, the metaverse will yield similar success if marketed correctly to the right users. The first was gaming. Will fashion be next to take the jump?