Reflections on Fashion in the Metaverse in 2022 and Beyond

I love fashion for the way it reflects the changes in society as a whole but also how it is deeply personal and expressive at the same time. Even if you don’t actively follow fashion, everyone has to wear clothes and what you choose to put on your body tells others something about you, your values and who you want to be affiliated with. Ever since I was young, I have observed the changes of fashion and connected these changes to other changes happening at the same time whether in culture, technology, sports and scientific innovations. It’s a fascinating field to study human behaviour and our progress on a micro and macro level.

Although fashion is my obsession, since I started working in the industry I have had various problems with it that conflict with my values and I have found it difficult at times to see it as an industry I want to work in. When I started studying fashion at university and in my early working days sustainable fashion was still looked down on but things were starting to change. Ethical focused business models like B Corp were way down on the priority list and digital fashion was not on the radar at all. Over the last ten years or so these aspects of the fashion industry have risen in significance which I am really pleased to see happening, although that doesn’t make it easy to implement and keep progress happening as fast as is needed.

Sustainable fashion

The last couple of years and during the pandemic accelerated a lot of change in fashion for many reasons and in many ways. Two significant themes of change are sustainable and digital fashion. While sustainable fashion is a massive area for growth and change needs to happen, I found working on the issues to be predominantly a supply chain and practical issue and not especially creative. Once we start fully addressing the problems and have a circular fashion system and greater regulation by the government, I feel that this side of fashion will start to become just how business needs to be done. It will become a part of everyone’s jobs and normal operations to be able to participate in the fashion industry.

Digital fashion and the metaverse

So where instead are the major changes happening for creativity and pushing fashion forward for consumers? In my opinion it is with digital fashion and exploring the infinite opportunities that the metaverse can offer to explore new spaces to engage with design, express ourselves and connect with people. There is still so much to discover and work out and most people still know very little about it. The advancement in 2021 in digital fashion has been enormous, especially in terms of technical aspects facilitating the tools possible for our imaginations to turn ideas into something tangible. I think 2022 will be another big year for progress with more people starting to participate and it becoming more integrated with our regular lives.

If you read the fashion press you can’t avoid the daily updates on new digital launches, blockchain updates, NFTs and metaverse happenings. Based on personal enquiries though, most consumers either haven’t heard of any of these terms or are not really sure what they are. I don’t feel that people necessarily need to know these terms; what is important is the implications for people. These developments essentially allow people to create a digital identity that moves with them from platform to platform without having to set something up from scratch every time and you can own unique digital assets (the NFTs or tokens) in this space too that have value which can be exchangeable. One thing I am pretty sure of is that even if people don’t know these terms they will be using them in the next year in a significant way, and many people already are.

I am going to dive into some of the opportunities and challenges that I am most excited by in terms of progress with the fashion industry in a digital world and I have many more questions than answers at the moment as this is all being figured out as we create it. These are some of the areas top of my mind as we start to expand the metaverse and fashions role in the experiences.

Where will we participate?

Firstly — where can we participate? We already do in some areas e.g. Zoom, video calls and gaming are all places where we can access the metaverse that we participate in already. Gaming platforms could be the new social networks. The gaming industry is huge and valuable, worth more than the film industry with billions of participants. Gaming platforms will be the first places we spend more time in the metaverse, partly because of how advanced they are in 3D rendering and interactivity but also as a more engaging way to spend time with other people. Places like Fortnite and Roblox are leading the way in terms of the platforms where more people are spending time not just to play games, but attend concerts, experiment with fashion show releases, and these platforms are investing huge sums to become the destinations for us to spend more of our leisure time. There are other ways many are also participating in the metaverse like Zwift for cycling and exercise — gamifying workouts while being at home. Or you can see the whole world in extraordinary detail and learn to fly a plane in Flight Simulator. We won’t just be playing the games but can socialise too and we will have avatars that we can dress and play with in these spaces.

I am also interested to see how other places where we spend a lot of time in physical life will transfer over to the metaverse. Will we be able to attend museum exhibitions? See sporting events in a new way? Go shopping with friends? I think the opportunities for these industries will be really exciting too. You won’t have to be restricted to your geographical location to be able to benefit and experience, for example, an exhibition at the Met museum. Creating these experiences will take a large amount of investment but the potential return is vast as places will be able to attract their target consumers all over the world and will be very scalable.

Many experts see that the first steps to getting people to participate more is not VR but AR, however there are not many good experiences yet using AR and most of the platforms that are successful in the metaverse at the moment are just web browser/desktop based (e.g Decentraland and Sandbox). Having a headset at home is out of the price range for a lot of people at the moment and too much of a commitment. A hybrid approach to introducing these technologies into our regular lives to transition into more metaverse experiences using phones, laptops and games consoles we already own will, I think, continue to be the first steps to participate.

Style and aesthetics — how will we present ourselves?

An exciting thing about the metaverse will be that pretty much anything will be possible to create. The laws of physics don’t necessarily have to apply and our clothing and even personal form can be anything too. Will we want to express ourselves as colourful unicorns, wear flaming clothes or just have versions of the clothes we wear now? I feel that all these options will happen and it will be really fascinating to see how people choose to present themselves and if it will be consistent, or different in different places. The opportunities for self expression will be incredible and potentially very freeing for many people to experience full freedom to experiment with their identity in a way that is not always possible to do in physical life.

What about fashion and consumer trends?

At the moment all sorts of ideas are being tried out and many brands are starting out by launching looks that are similar to the physical clothes they produce. One of the first ways some see how people will start to participate in digital fashion is to get a digital NFT of any physical purchase made so that you can use your new item in both the physical world and metaverse. Based on this idea it makes sense that most clothing in the metaverse resembles what we are used to wearing and see as fashionable. This buying journey may happen with some products but for a brand to create physical and digital products at the same time may not really work practically or be what people want. A potentially more engaging experience and opportunity with this technology behind tokens is to use them to unlock certain brand experiences or gain exclusive access. This would be an interesting step for brands that are already looking for ways to have more interactions with their customers and grow loyalty and learn more about their customers. Over time though we will probably start to value digital fashion more to be comfortable having items exclusively in the metaverse and they will develop their own aesthetic as well.

We must also remember that some of these platforms have actually been around for years and have their own loyal following that has created its own aesthetics within the metaverse. Brands will need to be aware and respectful of these existing subcultures when trying to bring their clothing into the metaverse and the customers they are going to engage within these spaces.

Curation

I feel that for fashion to begin to explode into the mainstream for the metaverse there would need to be an element of curation from experts. This may partly be at odds with the idea of a decentralised internet. However most consumers will need help deciding how and where to participate and spend money. As in ‘normal’ life and the physical world, there is an oversupply of choice and product and choice paralysis will happen. People will abandon their shopping if they can’t make a decision through being overwhelmed by choice if there are no companies and platforms to provide easy ways for people to filter what they see.

The user experience is a challenge in this space as there is a lot that is unknown, it is in early stages of being built and it can be complicated. People are also used to seamless interactions with products like Apple and Google so creating applications that are accessible and simple to use will all help people become more comfortable stepping into the metaverse.

Overall I think that the metaverse will give us great opportunities to explore our identity and find subcultures we identify with as we express ourselves. Just as with social media and web2 — Instagram, Pinterest and influencers etc started to replace magazines and editors as the tastemakers. I don’t know what will replace these in the metaverse or how it will evolve in this space but I am certain those in the fashion industry will be keen to spot trends and customers to follow tastemakers.

How will we show our collections, tastes and achievements?

Collecting is a very human pastime, we all do it in one way or another and sharing our interests is an important element of connecting with people. Back in the day when people would come around to your house and you used to have a CD collection on show, now very few have a physical music collection and everyone has digital music. Things like attending concerts and having followers of spotify could potentially be a similar new way we show off our style and taste digitally in the metaverse. I will be interested to see if there will be ways that our digital wallets will be viewable or sharable in a way so people can see your collection. Will we be able to create virtual showrooms, wardrobes and galleries to view our NFT art, clothing and events we have been to? This is something I potentially see that Instagram or similar could evolve to showcase.

Sustainability — managing over production and limiting waste

I also hope that exploring digital fashion will be a more sustainable way for people to still develop their personal style and without creating vast amounts of physical products that go to landfill. However, just because something doesn’t exist physically doesn’t mean creating something digitally produces no waste. It actually can. Most NFTs, especially early on, have produced a high amount of electricity waste and there are high gas fees associated with producing them. The technology is evolving to reduce these issues but it has put off a lot of people who are most eco conscious and don’t want to spend money on high fees. It has created a bad image that will need addressing and this is something brands should be aware of as this area evolves.

Valuing digital products, reselling/investing/trading products

I do have concerns about the values that some of these digital products and NFTs will sustain. No doubt some will maintain their value and grow (and those will be by recognisable brands, or very unique designs) but the rest will probably fade away in trends or as tastes evolve. I think that brands and creatives will have to be careful about pricing their products and be cautious not to saturate the market too soon.

There is a danger of hype and a bubble burst if people just buy whatever they see just so they have an NFT they think they can sell on for more. There is a lot of work that goes into designing and creating digital products too and I would hate to see us viewing that work as just something to be traded for more money and not appreciated for its art. For me this is not the purpose of buying digital fashion and instead people should prioritise buying what they love, what reflects them personally and from brands and creators that align with their values. Doing this incidentally will also mean what they buy will be more likely to maintain its value.

One of the positive opportunities for creatives in the metaverse is with the technology in blockchain and behind NFTs where the original creators can in some cases continue to get a percentage of any future resale of their work. This element of blockchain is being built into more token protocols and platforms as they emerge. Knowing now that this is possible makes me think how unfair the current system for artists and other creative producers (where it is not possible to get royalties) is when they create long lasting products and don’t get a share of the future value they create when the initial buyer sells on a piece of art or design. I hope this will mean that more people can afford to create artworks and designs, that it can provide a decent living and that the work of creators is not just for those that can afford it. This could democratise creative work more and talented people from any walk of life can continue to profit from their creativity.

Pricing and value of digital assets

Will digital be the entry price point for consumers to engage with new brands? This will be an interesting question to observe over the next couple of years. We see some digital products for $20–30 to start off for big luxury brands and then we are also seeing huge sums for others. I think there will be a lot of experimentation and change in this pricing and managing exclusivity in this area as people, brands and creatives figure out the pricing and value for this new economy. I think digital products will be an interesting way for people to sample and try new brands before buying physical products. In my view I think this will apply to the more luxury end where people will be able to first engage with the brands and attract a younger consumer.

Often the purpose of that first engagement for a customer is to try out quality and get a feel for the brand in a low risk way. How brands engage with these first time contacts and convert them into longer lifetime customers and evolve that customer journey will be really fascinating . I’m sure there will be lots of experimentation as new platforms and technologies emerge and people get more used to seeing brands and designers in a new digital environment.

Connecting the different metaverse platforms

An issue that creators and users of the metaverse are facing that could limit achieving a true metaverse is that all the platforms are mostly centralised at the moment, meaning they exist in their own ecosystem and you can’t purchase an item in one metaverse and take it to another. E.g. buying a skin in Fortnite does not allow you to use it in Decentraland. You can take some of your NFTs and tokens from platform to platform but not everything.

This will be a challenge to connect all the platforms but to get people to be more comfortable participating more in the metaverse and owning digital assets it will be an important one to achieve. There are a few companies trying to enable this greater level of functionality across platforms and I hope to see this start to happen more throughout this year. The elements of the metaverse that will make this possible are blockchain and digital wallets.

There is so much more to explore and talk about with the metaverse and fashion’s place in it but the areas I feel are most significant over the next year.

I’m sure for a lot of people it is quite a confronting thing to suggest that you can lead a full life in a digital way without interacting with people or things in physical life. It certainly throws up a lot of ethical and social dilemmas about how we interact with people and how we may value digital experiences over ‘real life’ ones if we can become a more interesting and experimental person with an avatar to project whatever we like about ourselves. I think that the overall thing that is really interesting about how Web3 will enable all these new avenues to explore in fashion is how it can level the playing field for people, no matter where you live or what resources you have. As long as you have access to the internet you will be able to create and get your work seen and also profit fairly if successful.

The fashion industry gets a lot of blame and negativity towards it, that it is one of the most highly polluting industries and is toxic (all true) but I feel it is important to remind ourselves that fashion as a definition and in practice is only a reflection of society, cultural change and our values. Therefore adjusting our values and priorities will mean that fashion invariably will change and can do so for the good of people and the planet. I am excited to see how these new innovations and opportunities evolve and how the metaverse can level the playing field for people to participate and enable us to continue expressing ourselves through fashion in new ways.