The metaverse is transporting fashion to a new dimension. Whether you’re a keen gamer or just decided to tap into the world's first virtual fashion week, it is likely that you’ll have spotted a luxury brand or two on your travels.
After Gucci became one of the first major fashion brands to enter the metaverse in 2021, their Gucci Garden experience quickly showcased the potential of virtual branding. Teaming up with Roblox, the luxury designer saw 19 million visitors in just two weeks! Exhibiting handbags to hats on a range of interactive avatars, Gucci created an unforgettable experience for fashion enthusiasts around the globe.
Following Gucci’s success, more luxury brands are jumping headfirst into the metaverse. Designers such as Balenciaga, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger are just a few of the industry pioneers taking fashion forward, but the question is, where can it go next?
Fashion’s journey into the metaverse
The fashion industry is known for creating memorable experiences. Can you remember Moschino’s Covid-cautious puppet runway, or Gaga’s iconic meat dress statement? The fashion world certainly knows how to send a message.
As an industry that prides itself as an art form, fashion’s journey into the metaverse aims to take personal expression one step further.
Did you know that 1 in 5 Roblox users update their avatar every day? By unlocking new possibilities for experimental design, luxury brands can push the boat out with customisable clothing and creative accessories that feed a user's need for self-expression.
How are fashion designers using the metaverse?
There are many ways for fashion brands to use the metaverse, and freed from typical design constraints, the metaverse has become a platform for creative freedom. Let’s have a look at how the fashion industry is using this to its advantage.
Customisable clothing
“Self-expression is a huge part of any shared experiences, be it in real life or in the metaverse,” says Christina Wootton, VP of global brand partnerships at Roblox. “And digital fashion plays a hugely important role in our community’s creative self-expression.”
The metaverse removes the typical clothing constraints a person would encounter in the real world. A digital avatar can wear anything. With the ability to have complete creative freedom, both users and designers can imagine the metaverse as an experimental drawing board for personal expression.
25 million virtual accessories were created by the Roblox community alone in 2021, so you can see just how important a customisable experience is in the metaverse.
Balenciaga has taken customisable clothing one step further with its Fortnite campaign. Inserting itself into Fortnite’s gaming metaverse, Balenciaga bought digital fashion to life in 2021.
As popular Fortnite characters such as Ramirez and Doggo took on a transformation, the Balenciaga X Fortnite partnership allowed users to customise avatar outfits and accessories to fit their own styles and expressions.
From battle bus-prepped Shady Doggo styles to runway-ready Banshee looks, Balenciaga combined game adaptability with luxury fashion. Users could customise looks in changing booths and even add Balenciaga Fit outfits to their inventory, so it’s no surprise that players spent over 50% of their game time in creative mode at the height of the campaign.
Better still, many of Shaggy Doggo’s styles could be found on Balenciaga’s real-life online site, ready for Fortnite fans to buy and wear in real life.
The virtual runway
The first ever Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) saw its debut in March this year. Taking place in the popular Decentraland metaverse, the event welcomed some of the globe’s most iconic luxury brands, such as Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana and even Selfridges.
With over 108,000 visitors in just four days, MVFW raked in revenue and showcased the possibilities for fashion in the metaverse.
So, what did MVFW entail? Anyone that visited Decentraland during virtual fashion week would have seen rows of digital stores opened in the platform’s luxury fashion district. Aside from enjoying front-row seats at Dolce & Gabbana’s cat avatar catwalk, users had the option to purchase VR wearables.
While brands such as Tommy Hilfiger offered people the option to click through and purchase garments on their physical site, Dundas turned to NFT wearables and avatar customisation.
We only have to look to Gucci to know that NFT wearables are successful. In 2021, we saw a digital version of the Gucci Dionysus bag sell for $4,115 on Roblox, nearly $1000 over its physical retail price of $3,400!
So it’s no wonder that MVFW was packed full of shoppable wearables.
Creating an interactive fashion experience
The metaverse is constantly unlocking new VR solutions for luxury designers. As an industry that prides itself on creating unmatchable experiences for its customers, brands are constantly looking for new ways to attract attention.
Gucci is paving the way for immersive fashion. Rather than simply using a metaverse platform to showcase new designs and encourage online shopping, Gucci’s new Vault Land aspires to completely immerse users in a fashion-focused world.
The experimental concept design combines past, present and future. From restoring Gucci’s vintage handbags to trying on a number of futuristic Gucci designs, the luxury brand claims that it wants to give users an “interactive fashion experience”.
Blurring the lines between brand marketing and platform gaming, Gucci is just one luxury brand demonstrating what the future of the fashion industry could look like.
Where could metaverse fashion go next?
According to experts at Morgan Stanley, the metaverse could account for 10% of the luxury goods market by 2030.
The metaverse opens up doors for experimentation, designer exclusivity and even gamified shopping experiences. As we continue to see new crossovers between the fashion industry and immersive technology, the metaverse is quickly becoming fashion’s VR solution for success.
Whether you’re looking to customise your online avatars or buy the next digital Gucci bag, it’s clear that fashion’s journey into the metaverse has only just begun.
