Metaverse Fashion Week

There are the “Big Four” fashion weeks that are recognized around the world: Paris, Milan, London, and New York. Full of glitz, glamor, and the newest styles from both established and up-and-coming designers, these fashion shows command the attention of millions every year. But unbeknownst to most, a new fashion week concept has entered the digital space: the Metaverse Fashion Week. The event took place in March of 2022, and is the first of its kind, pioneering the way for high fashion in an increasingly digital world.

What is Metaverse Fashion Week?

With the rise in popularity of the Metaverse, NFTs, and Web3, Metaverse Fashion Week is the product of combining new technology with existing markets to create a fun, engaging entertainment and shopping experience. MFW featured both established and household brands like Dolce and Gabbana and Tommy Hilfilger, as well as digital-native designers, like FangGang and 8SIAN. The event takes place in Decentraland, a trendy, evolving metaverse, where designs are shown on 3D catwalks and exclusive events.

What is Decentraland?

Decentraland is the first-ever decentralized virtual reality platform, where users can buy and sell digital items and real estate in a digital world. This world is completely imagined and created by the user, and can range from space villages to underground dungeons, or in this case, a digital platform to host a fashion show. Decentraland is controlled by autonomous organizations known in the crypto community as DAO’s who own the most important assets.

So how does Metaverse Fashion Week work?

As NFTs grow in popularity, fashion brands have started to make NFT clothing. During fashion week, designers showcase their pieces on the runway, and attendees have the option of purchasing it immediately straight off of the runway. These clothes can be purchased as digital-native assets or digital + physical assets, meaning that the clothes can be purchased and redeemed as just NFTs or the buyer can purchase the NFT and have the same product shipped to their door for their real-world wardrobe. This concept encourages an immediate shopping experience and an opportunity to match and optimize real and online wardrobes, creating a phygital experience.

How Successful was the first Metaverse Fashion Week?

As the most high-profile event in the metaverse, it was a success in terms of excitement garnered within the fashion and web3 communities and with regards to bringing overall awareness to designers, Web3, and to the event itself. As more lives shift online, Metaverse Fashion Week aspires to demonstrate that fashion can be just as much a part of your online virtual reality as it is a part of your real-world identity and that fashion can expand into new markets.