A Fashion Show In The Metaverse?

What will hopefully be the first of many Metaverse Fashion Weeks will begin on March 24th, hosted on the popular meta gaming platform Decentraland. This is an exciting new opportunity for the fashion and tech world to witness and be a part of something never done or even seen before. It is apparent that Metaverse Fashion Week should not at all be a mere replication of real life fashion shows, but rather something entirely different. What is intriguing about this event is the possibility that the fashion industry enthusiasts who would normally attend runway shows looking their best, will now shift that creative effort into making their digital avatars look appealing instead. However, that doesn’t mean Metaverse Fashion Week is all about enjoying haute digital couture from the comfort of our homes, still wearing pyjamas while donning a VR headset (although, you could do that if you wanted). Outfits showcased at this innovative digital event may be available in the real world, too – and so Metaverse Fashion Week could become the catalyst for upping your style game in both the physical and digital worlds.

Fashion shows from dozens of brands from around the world will be presenting their finest digital offerings, and thousands will be able to experience it. Although the fun won’t stop at just shows – visitors will also be able to attend live music sessions at branded after parties and buy and wear digital clothing in Decentraland, directly from the catwalk. The four-day virtual event will also have an engaging array of showrooms, stores, and talks. MVFW is open to all, but purchases will be made via an Ethereum wallet. Certain brands may offer VIP access or front-row seats for holders of specific NFTs. But above all, it’s the atmosphere that will make MVFW what it will become. Luxury NFT marketplace UNXD who helped build Dolce & Gabbana’s NFT collection will contribute to the curation of the event’s programming.

More and more brands have been expressing interest in Metaverse Fashion Week since its announcement in December, and it’s not hard to see why. Having a spot within the very first MVFW will open new doors for fashion brands who are part of this historical moment in fashion tech. Many of the brands showcasing at MVFW could come out of it viewed as pioneers in the space. It also offers brands a safety net for trying out the tech behind a 3D virtual world platform for themselves on an open platform, before going all-in. Decentraland and the Sandbox are achieving notoriety as open metaverse platforms, providing plots of virtual land to investors who plan on building businesses within these worlds.

Digital fashion brand Republique has recently deployed a team of designers who are helping a range of clothing brands digitize their items, a service that is now in high demand. Republique themselves will be selling NFT skins at MVFW, alongside other big brands. Hugo (part of Hugo Boss’ recent rebrand) recently signed with MVFW partner Boson Protocol. This will allow consumers to buy physical Hugo products inside of the metaverse, including at Metaverse Fashion Week. Another brand who are showcasing metaverse clothing that can also be bought physically is Faith Tribe, the decentralized NFT project of Parisian luxury Fashion Brand, Faith Connexion. Theirs is an open-source fashion design platform for the collaborative, decentralized production of fashion items. Through Faith Tribe, new and independent creatives can create designs that can be sold as the designer’s drop collection. These designs can then be minted as digital-only NFTs, or they can also have the physical version of their clothing item produced from quality materials. Faith Tribe wearable NFTs can therefore be showcased as a part of Metaverse Fashion Week, as well as in the real world – so if you wanted, you could wear the Faith Tribe jacket you brought at Metaverse Fashion Week to a party in the real world, and represent your style regardless of whichever world you’re spending time in.

Many eyes are watching with interest at the phenomenon of blockchain intertwining itself with fashion to see where it’s headed next. Metaverse Fashion Week intends to establish itself as an official and recurring meta-fashion event creating extraordinary experiences. With the innovation of so many interesting brands contributing towards the first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week, it looks like it’s on the right trajectory to fulfilling that legacy.