Hot Takes #2: Fashion And The Metaverse
Is metaverse fashion all hype and no substance?
Hot Takes is a place where I explore and analyse whatever’s going on in the realm of fashion in a relatable and helpful way, basically my bullet point thoughts on fashion's hottest issues. These posts will get to the heart of why people are talking about what they’re talking about, what this means and where this could go next.
Think: what direction is fashion heading in? What’s new, innovative and exciting? What could do with a little less showmanship and a little more thought? And also, what's going on in fashion that's really pissing people off?
Hot Takes will tie fashion topics to a wider cultural and social context, and dig into why these topics are important now and the often more significant meanings behind them. I hope they give you a little more food for thought when thinking about the latest fashionable goings-on.
So sit back, relax and let's get into it. Here’s Hot Takes #2.
But what exactly is the metaverse? Well, to cut a long story short, no one knows exactly just yet. But it's loosely described as the next level of the internet, a place where immersive, interconnected 3D virtual worlds come together that are far more interactive and engaging than the typical websites we visit today. It’s touted as a place where people will be able to work, socialise and play, and the potential of it is supposedly immense - look no further than Facebook changing its corporate company name to Meta to see how much value is being placed in it. The metaverse concept has quickly gained traction and interest across many industries, not just tech, with fashion being no exception.
The first Metaverse Fashion Week was a clear sign that there's a radical shift taking place in how we think about and consume fashion. Taking place in Decentraland anyone with a computer could join, and it was a sensory overload that happened completely virtually with brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Roberto Cavalli getting in on the action. According to figures from investment bank Morgan Stanley, the digital fashion sector could be worth $50 billion by 2030, and a report from Virtue Worldwide found that 94% of global respondents “foresee digital fashion becoming mainstream” - these figures are not to be scoffed at. Fashion sees the metaverse as a potentially lucrative market where the possibilities are endless, but is this all fact or fiction?
Digital avatars for self-expression
Some people are thinking about the metaverse and digital fashion as the next iteration of Instagram and Snapchat filters, and that's one way to look at it. One thing the metaverse can do is level up these forms of self-expression and take them to the extreme. As people move freely between 3D environments and virtual worlds with the help of AI and AR, these expansive realms can allow for new levels of creativity that we haven’t yet seen. And this is where self-expression comes into play. Getting dressed in the metaverse could mean adopting a completely new identity, something that hasn’t been seen or imagined yet with wild and illogical iterations of our online identities accepted in a space that makes room for people to be themselves whatever that may look like.
Blending online and offline
Parsons School of Design has partnered with the online platform and game creation system Roblox to educate students about the future of virtual and digital fashion, with a course available to Parson students starting in spring 2023 that looks at equipping students with the tools they’ll need to prepare for how self-expression could look in fashions near (mainly virtual) future. Metaverse intrigue is spilling over into real life, and major labels are creating virtual fashion events, avatar clothing collections and exclusive digital drops that not only build hype and brand interest but push consumers towards buying real-life goods from said brands. Something that can have actual monetary value seeing as a report by global consultancy firm Bain & Company found that 70% of luxury purchases are influenced by online interactions.
Fashionable newbies shake up the game
You have the likes of Gucci launching a collab with Roblox in 2021, Balenciaga rolling out a new division at their HQ dedicated to developing their metaverse offering, and Louis Vuitton, Adidas and Burberry all dropping metaverse projects of their own in some way, shape or form. Most notably Nike acquired RTFKT, a crypto project hoping to combine blockchain technology with sneaker culture and fashion, late last year. Even though a ton of big names are hoping to shape what fashion looks like in the metaverse, a wave of newbies are challenging these legacy brands without needing to have a pre-existing presence in fashion which is allowing new creators and independent brands to flourish. The Fabricant, the Dematerialised and DressX may not sell physical clothes people can touch or buy, but they specialise in tech-led designs that are putting them ahead of many big brand rivals.
My two cents.
Is the metaverse all hype and no substance? Can tech play catch up and better connect virtual worlds with real life? Are the possibilities of fashion in the metaverse truly limitless? Maybe, maybe not. The biggest hurdle fashion will have to overcome is making people understand what the metaverse is, why digital fashion is important and why they should be buying into it.
Yes, meta-fashion could create a huge shift in the way shoppers assign value and status to objects, and yes it has the potential to solve some real-world problems fashion often comes across. But not everyone’s going to be overjoyed by a high price tag attached to something that doesn’t physically exist… Well, not yet anyway.
What do you think of these kick-starter thoughts that I hope encourage you to think a little more deeply about this topic? Do you think metaverse fashion will take over? And can metaverse fashion have purpose and value in years to come?