The first Metaverse Fashion Week was conducted this year, with brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Etro and Roberto Cavalli walking the 3D virtual runway on Decentraland.
With gaming becoming an extension of the real world, fashion brands have been excited to get on the bandwagon of the Metaverse. Ralph Lauren, for instance, partnered with South Korean social network app Zepeto to create a virtual fashion collection where users could dress their avatars in exclusive products or appearance-altering “skins.”
Fashion and NFTs
Big brands are selling digital fashion in the form of digital art, with non-fungible tokens as certificates of ownership. Styling the virtual avatars with designer clothing and accessories has become increasingly popular in the Metaverse. According to a McKinsey management consultancy study, Gen Z and Millennials are estimated to spend around five hours a day on the Metaverse in the next five years. Personalization of avatars will gain more importance and fashion will play an important role for the same.
Marketing
Labels are working on creating a brand in the Metaverse, while also focusing on player outfits in games and skins. Ralph Lauren has partnered with Winter Escape, Lacoste with Minecraft and Balenciaga with Fortnite to create digital skins. Digitally, a Balenciaga hoodie costs around USD 15 while the same hoodie costs USD 800 in real life. The ownership of premium digital fashion pieces gives users a sense of luxury that is not affordable in the real world.
Benefits of Metaverse in Fashion
Samples of clothing can be created on the digital renderings, thereby reducing carbon footprint. Digital avatars can try clothes first, which saves time on store visits and waiting in long queues. Clothes can be tried in virtual stores from the leisure of your home at any time of the day, not limited to store timings. Virtual clothing also ushers a sense of exclusivity with the general public.
Conclusion
The metaverse provides brands opportunities for development in new avenues that have not been explored before. With NFTs, Blockchain and the Metaverse, the possibilities for the fashion industry are endless.
Smrithi Shree
SimplyFI Blog 