Metaverse says the fashion industry needs more than ever

As consumers lose interest in the metaverse, what is the future of metaverse fashion? It’s brilliant and vital, advocates say.

It seems like a long time ago that everyone was talking about the Metaverse. In the year In October 2021, Facebook announced the rebranding of Meta, reflecting a renewed focus on the opposite of Meta. The move generated a lot of buzz as a significant step towards mainstream adoption of Metavas.

In December 2021, someone paid $450,000 to be Snoop Dogg’s neighbor on the Metaverse platform, The Sandbox. Although it is not known how long it has been. In the year In November 2021, Lil Nas X performed a virtual concert in the Roblox Metaverse. That same year, Coca-Cola released a virtual vending machine in Decentraland that offered branded NFTs. The list goes on.

Despite the explosion of interest, public interest has faded, according to Google Trends. In the year After peaking between October 2021 – the time of Facebook’s turnaround – and January 2022, when Paris Hilton unveiled its prized NFT, demand fell roughly 85%.

But, for fans, it’s still early days. Over time, immersive, interconnected digital worlds will become as common as our use of games or video conferencing software. When we enter this digital world, we are concerned about what we wear. That’s Metaverse Fashion and the idea behind Metaverse Fashion Week. An annual event is currently taking place at Decentraland.

“When we sat down last summer to plan how to develop Metaverse Fashion Week for this year’s edition, we heard feedback from the community as well as what they wanted from Metaverse as it developed into a broader international market.” Says Dr. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, Head of Metaverse Fashion Week.

Metaverse Fashion Week held its first event in March 2022. At that time, the event attracted the attention of the crypto, fashion and gaming worlds, just as interest in the Metaverse was waning. The event featured iconic fashion brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, Estee Lauder, Elie Saab and Etro. This year, you’re leaning towards a phenomenon that transcends the physical and digital worlds. Clearly, before we all had expensive VR headsets, a purely digital event had limited appeal.

“One of the ways we can prevent the over-exaggeration of Metavas is to get serious about the limitations of technology in people’s imaginations today. “We believe that expanding to a hybrid event model and doubling down on a workable metaverse approach is one way to connect people with virtual worlds where they are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” continues Casimiro.

“We also have many physical events like the augmented reality runway in Milan, hosted by Over and Pinko, and showing how IRL fashion houses can present real, beautiful collections in the digital world. We’re seeing the rise of digital fashion on platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, recently at Parsons Public A survey revealed that 75% of respondents under the age of 25 say they change their digital wardrobe at least twice a week.

Big brands are already in digital fashion.

There’s a huge investment in metaverse fashion, ready for the day we step in and out of our digital closets. In June 2021, Adidas teamed up with Genies, an avatar creation platform, to create digital apparel. In the year In December, Nike announced the acquisition of digital sneaker brand RTFKT (or “Artifact”).

Roblox has partnered with Levi’s and Gucci on digital apparel and events. Balenciaga has launched a fantasy video game called “Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow”. Where you can wear Balenciaga-branded clothing in a different way. Again, the list goes on. And even though the momentum has slowed, only a fool would tap the money and think corporate focus is gone forever.

But why should any of us care? “Because we have to put the planet and the people first,” Lydia Birgani-Nia, head of partnerships and acquisitions at the Digital Fashion Institute, told BeinCrypto. “At the end of the world, do you need more clothes? We believe that digital fashion will not only solve the pain points in fashion sustainability and greenwashing, but will also truly democratize the industry.

It’s a valid point. Globally, 80 billion items of clothing are used each year, a 400 percent increase from 20 years ago. One statistic shows that the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions. If we spend more time online, should we keep buying more clothes?

“We literally gave birth to the Digital Fashion Institute as an emblem of change to reimagine a broken system. “We are targeting the outdated notion of ‘fast fashion for the masses and chic for the elite,'” adds Birgani-Nia.

Daria Shapovalova, co-founder of DRESSX, wholeheartedly agrees. Her company uses 3D modeling and design software to produce virtual clothing for digital environments. These include virtual worlds, augmented reality and social media platforms.

“Traditional fashion is a sustainable and ethical solution to environmental problems,” Shapovalova said in a conversation with Beincrypto. “By replacing physical clothes with digital clothes, we can significantly reduce carbon emissions, save water and eliminate waste. Digital fashion offers a lot of creative freedom that is not possible with traditional fashion. With digital clothes, you can endlessly customize and improve to create a truly unique wardrobe. Personalize yourself in a way that is not limited by physical clothes. And it’s perfect for anyone who wants to express their style.