When Luxury Fashion Brands take their runway to the Digital World — Metaverse, NFTs, and beyond
Metaverse has been a real buzz everywhere over the past few months. Brands are rushing to showcase their creativity in this limitless virtual world and it seems like fashion luxury brands will be the one taking over the largest sectors in this immersed reality society.
Whenever it comes to luxury fashion brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Burberry, they never cease to surprise us with how much people are willing to pay for their limited collection items.
Now, imagine if we can buy a new digital 3D rendered Chanel handbag from a virtual showroom without having to get out from the couch, the social experience is the same since you can show it off to your friends in the digital world— wouldn’t you buy it?
Social Commerce and Digital Wearable
From jewelry, handbags, and limited-edition sneakers, the NFT craze has reached billions of dollars already.
Nowadays, people are more accustomed to shopping and social digitally through social media platforms, online games, and interactive content. iCommerce or immersive commerce may be the next big thing for brands.
Like how a virtual Gucci Dionysus bag was sold for $4,115 on a gaming platform Roblox in their virtual Gucci Garden exhibition back in 2021. The bag was non-NFT and essentially hold zero value, but the craziest part is that it costs more than the physical Dionysus bag in the real world. The gaming platform has surely became another channel for brands to advertise and sell their products more than ever, and it’s just the beginning.
Fashion/Art NFTs
Talking about NFT in the fashion industry, it has already been proven possible to make millions, to be exact $6 millions, from selling a hybrid physical NFT of Dolce & Gabana collection last year.
Collezione Genesi, a one-of-a-kind collection that integrated the physical and the metaphysical beautifully, by turning D&G traditional way into animated digital versions. The NFTs of the 9-piece collection also have the option of transferring the fashion items into a digital wearable in a metaverse at choice, by the collaboration with studio UNXD. It was a great success and just amazing!
Metaverse Fashion Week
The hype doesn’t stop there, get your digital outfit and #MVFW ready! Because Decentraland is about to host the first Metaverse Fashion Week ever on March, 24–27, everyone is welcome to join!
If you’re wondering how’s the event will look like. First of all, there will be live music, after-parties, and pop-up stores for thousands of virtual visitors to enjoy. Virtual avatars will be walking the runways, exhibiting collections from brands like D&G and Hugo Boss, and of course, some if not all, will be shoppable and even wearable instantly on your avatar.
Can’t wait to shop for this year’s new collection at the MVFW? Don’t forget your Ethereum wallet, because you will need one to buy the digital items and get a first hand in the 3D garments AR experiences.
More and more fashion brands are stepping into these digital world of NFTs, digital wearable, and Metaverse. The platforms are no longer domain for gamers and techies anymore, but a place where anyone and everyone can meet, have fun, and even do business as easy as it ever been.
My Thoughts
When I started writing this week’s blog, I spent an hour to decide on the topic, and surprisingly, spent a whole day reading about fashion brands and the digital world. There’s so much going on and it’s fascinating how brands perfectly brings fashion and technology together.
First, I couldn’t wrap my mind on how people spend ten of thousands dollars on a non-physical art or a digital wearable. Why would someone do that?
But, the more I read into the articles, I starting to understand. Each and every NFTs and digital wearables has a story behind them. It’s basically the same as how brands create values for their physical products, but with the integration of new innovations such as AR and blockchain.
To me, clothing is a form of self-expression — there are hints about who you are in what you wear — Marc Jacobs
It doesn’t matter where you are, weather in the physical world or the digital world, fashion will always be a thing that show your character. Especially when today’s social take place in the internet as much as in the real world, it’s kind of reasonable to invest in digital luxury, wouldn’t you think so?
I believe that Metaverse will definitely have some impact on the marketing strategies of many brands, especially the ones that their competitors already jumped into the action. I personally view it as an opportunity for marketers to utilize their creativity without the limitations of the physical world and I would love to have an experience in doing so.
But, Will the Metaverse be here to stay?
As for that question, I think the MVFW is the first glance to see how much people enjoy the experience in the Metaverse and what are their expectations for the future.
For now, as far as I know, I’m getting ready to try out Metaverse for the first time! Let’s me know if anyone is already in there and maybe we can grab a cup of coffee together!
