Metaverse Fashion Week’s second iteration took place recently and was a collaboration between Decentraland foundation, Spatial, and Over the Reality, providing a broader experience for participants. The event showcased fashion brands and their Web3 strategies, which harnessed emerging technologies. The brands employed a real narrative and brand values to enhance their visibility, attracting visitors to their activations. Threediem, a 3D engine, worked with Coach to create a gamified Metaverse Fashion Week experience in Decentraland, centered around its hero Tabby bag.
The event showcased emerging cross-platform wearable technology capabilities. Adidas showcased its Virtual Gear non-fungible token (NFT) collection to wearables via a ‘linked wearables’ feature. But it also gifted 5,000 Decentraland wearable editions of its Wallrunner jacket in an exclusive blood orange colorway to visitors, allowing them to learn if the community likes it, and getting feedback on the utility of interoperability. Tommy Hilfiger’s Decentraland space was a sales hub that allowed users to buy physical items or directed them to Ready Player Me (RPM), where they could buy digital wearables created with partner DRESSX that could then be worn by avatars across Decentraland, Roblox, and RPM compatible worlds like Spatial.
The event also featured an AI fashion challenge initiated by Tommy Hilfiger and DRESSX, whereby would-be AI designers were invited to create looks via written prompts and implement Hilfiger branding. Winners of the challenge will have their creations produced as an NFT artwork with AR and Decentraland utilities.
Hugo Boss created an immersive showroom on Metaverse Fashion Week cohost platform, Spatial, dubbing it a digital extension of the recent BOSS fashion show that took place in Miami. Visitors could purchase physical versions of the five looks displayed in the space via links to BOSS’ e-commerce. Additionally, users completing a quest received a digital version of a BOSS suit shown on the Miami runway that could be worn on Spatial and other platforms using Ready Player Me avatars.
Metaverse Fashion Week also featured Augmented Reality (AR) metaverse platform Over the Reality, which participated by showcasing a site-specific AR runway show at Milan’s Piazza del Duomo. People in the vicinity could access via their smartphones to see looks and accessories from Pinko, the Balmain x Spacerunners collaboration, and Gucci Vault collaborator Pet Liger. Augmented Reality merged digital fashion with the real world and intensified the physical and virtual effect.
French e-commerce platform Monnier Paris teamed up with Republiq, a digital fashion brand, on a design competition for Web3 fashion creators. Finalists will have their submission turned into a real life bag via 3D printing technology and sold on Monnier Paris with an accompanying NFT.
Metaverse Fashion Week demonstrates the metaverse’s inextricable bond with the real world and its components. From our obsession with TV reality shows to the red carpet moments of the MET Gala and the Oscars. The event showcased a digital capsule of virtual runway shows and designer collections created within Decentraland. Likewise, the next season of Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star, a reality TV series broadcast on the BBC3 channel, will take place in the metaverse.
In conclusion, Metaverse Fashion Week showcased exciting and innovative fashion brands and their engagement with emerging Web3 technologies. The event highlighted the metaverse’s inextricable link to the real world and the potential for AI, Augmented Reality, and 3D printing technology to revolutionize fashion design and sales. The digital fashion industry is set to transform the luxury fashion industry of the future, creating new opportunities and awareness for digital talent.
