Combining the worlds of fashion with the Metaverse has the potential to substantially benefit both brands and their customers.
Many consumers want assistance in comprehending the notion of digital fashion because purchasing/trying on products that only exist in a virtual world appears strange at first. However, as this niche sector continues to grow, many experts are becoming more concerned about the Metaverse’s impact on the future of fashion.
According to one recent study, digital clothing is significantly more environmentally friendly than its physical counterpart, emitting 97% less CO2 and requiring approximately 3,300 litres of water per garment. Furthermore, evidence suggests that replacing biological samples with digital ones during the design and metaverse development phases of a company might reduce a brand’s carbon footprint by up to 30%.
Furthermore, the use of digital clothing can be advantageous during the numerous procedures that precede the actual physical production of a garment. These virtual objects, for example, can be utilised for modelling, sampling, and marketing before actual iterations are sent into production, lowering the overall environmental impact of a fashion item’s whole lifecycle.
Finally, when it comes to sales, digital clothing models can help alleviate issues associated with overproduction, which is widely seen as a major hurdle in today’s fashion industry.
Cointelegraph reached out to Lokesh Rao, CEO of Trace Network Labs, to learn more about whether digital fashion is a passing fad or a long-lasting phenomenon. This project enables businesses to investigate Web3 goods and services. He believes that as the Metaverse evolves, it will surely touch and revolutionise the fashion industry, adding:
He went on to mention something about fashion’s intangibility un the Metaverse. For example, the lack of physical clothing allows users to explore and construct extravagant wardrobes much beyond what would be imaginable in the real world. Furthermore, because the clothes are digital collectibles or nonfungible tokens (NFTs), they may be freely traded across open NFT marketplaces, increasing their long-term value, something that many real or used clothing items lack.
However, Rao believes that the most important function of the Metaverse in the fashion industry is that in a digital world, consumers can deploy their avatars to visit several stores and try on different outfits before making a purchase decision. “This is far superior to having a brick-and-mortar business in multiple places, which is an expensive operation,” he said.
From the outside looking in, the Metaverse provides companies, labels, and fashion houses with numerous advantages, including having a borderless presence that transcends physical boundaries, creating global brand awareness through digital means, and retailing “phygital” clothes while providing convenience to their customers.
Consumers, on the other hand, benefit greatly. Customers, for example, can try on products at their leisure, time, and place, order garments from a virtual store in physical format or as an NFT, have physical delivery handled from anywhere in the world, and keep ownership in perpetuity on the blockchain.
The future of fashion could be rewritten.
The convergence of these two worlds, according to Frank Fitzgerald, creator of Pax. World, a platform that lets users to design their own Metaverse, has the potential to make a huge impact on the fashion industry. He began to Cointelegraph:
Fitzgerald asserted that the younger generation is the most crucial group for digital fashion, particularly those who see digital representation as an integral element of their social identity.
While older generations (30 and up) may find these ideas difficult to embrace, he expects more people will join in the future. “Over the next decade, I can see a whole generation of 20 and 30-year-olds becoming very concerned about their digital image and what that says to their colleagues and friends,” he said.
Only a few people believe in the concept.
Stepan Sergeev, the founder of OneWayBlock, the company behind the blockchain-based game Clash of Coins, believes that digital fashion will not take over the world anytime soon. According to him, most people who enjoy fashion, whether high or low, aren’t yet in the Metaverse, adding:
He contrasted the current state of the digital fashion industry to video game players purchasing unique skins, which make things meaningful only in specific contexts. “It’s plausible if the fashion industry picks up momentum and people rush to acquire fashion NFTs like shoes and handbags.”
Sergeev believes that the metaverse fashion phenomena is a passing fad that huge clothing companies and brands have adopted in order to keep up with the latest technology breakthroughs.
According to Sasha Tityanko, deputy CEO and art director for social VR platform Sensorium Galaxy, the Metaverse will enhance existing experiences in the fashion sector but will not transform it. Fashion brands thrive on change and daring activities, and setting new norms is vital to their operations. She mentioned the following:
Virtual worlds provide creative outlets free of stereotypes and social restraints. Experimentation and inventiveness are encouraged in the Metaverse.
Fashion labels are quickly making their way into the Metaverse.
By 2022, several well-known brands, including Adidas, Nike, and Gucci, were said to have generated $137.5 million in NFT sales alone. Dolce & Gabbana broke the record for the most expensive suit ever sold when it sold a $1 million digital Glass Suit late last year.
D&G’s NFT collection was also worth $6 million. Simultaneously, Gucci’s virtual Queen Bee Dionysus bag was sold for 350,000 Robux (a popular in-game currency used to purchase skins and accessories), or $4,000 – more than the bag’s real-life value.
In Q4 2021, Louis Vuitton created a video game that allowed players to hunt for 30 NFTs hidden around the Metaverse. When these items were collected, their owners were granted access to a variety of exclusive events and private parties. Similarly, Balenciaga has collaborated with Fortnite, a video game with over 300 million gamers, to sell players high-fashion skins. Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren and Zepeto, a South Korean social network app, cooperated to create a virtual fashion line for participants.
Tityanko believes that as the gap between the actual and virtual worlds continues to blur and Web3 offers new technological developments, ordinary people will have more opportunity to express themselves.
“While not everyone can afford to buy a Balenciaga dress in person, you might be able to acquire one for yourself online,” she concluded. If you want to learn more about Metaverse, please contact our Metaverse consulting team right away.
She also noted that major fashion brands like Gucci, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton have large teams dedicated to researching and testing the Web3 domain, demonstrating that many firms see the potential of the digital market. “Gen Z spends twice as much time socialising in digital contexts as they do in real life, according to Vice Media Group data,” Tityanko stated.
As we enter a future governed by decentralised technologies, it will be fascinating to see how the fashion industry’s fate evolves, especially as more and more businesses embrace the Metaverse every day.
