Fashion is an early adopter of metaverse technologies. These include 3D design; social media and extended reality; gaming and virtual spaces; and non-fungible tokens. Here are a few key projects.
Carlings1/27Carlings's digital fashion collectsion
In November 2018, Scandinavian retailer Carlings sold out of a digital clothing collectsion in a week. Digital tailors manipulated customer photos so it appeared that they were dressed in the apparel, which cost up to €30 per piece. (Pictured: Morten Grubak, executive creative director of Vice Media, who lead the project.)
Tommy Hilfiger2/27Tommy Hilfiger converting to digital design
In November 2019, Tommy Hilfiger committed to digital design. For both Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, parent company PVH Corp. is trialling the ability to replace physical prototypes with digital prototypes, and replacing on-model photography with 3D garments digitally added to models.
The Fabricant3/27The Fabricant's "iridescence dress"
In May 2019, Dapper Labs auctioned an NFT dress designed by Dutch digital fashion studio The Fabricant. The winning bid was $9,500 (in cryptocurrency), and the winner was digitally fitted in the garment.
Snap Inc.4/27Snapchat's sneaker try-on
In June 2020, Snapchat partnered with Wannaby, which detects and maps the user's foot to digitally dress it in sneakers, to enable shoppable sneaker try-on within Snapchat.
Dior5/27Dior's AR try-on
Dior CEO Pietro Beccari said in July 2021 that AR and virtual try-on are priorities. “This has proved an invaluable asset but only makes sense for us when it connects to real products, not solely virtual ones. At a time when things are happening remotely, and by phone, we find that clients appreciate getting to know a product a bit better before setting foot in a boutique.”
Damara Inglês6/27Damara Inglês's virtual fashion show
In July 2020, London designer Damara Inglês presented an entirely virtual show as part of The Fabric of Reality VR showcase, produced by creative agency Ryot (owned by Verizon) and London College of Fashion's Fashion Innovation Agency.
Digital designs by Patrick McDowell rendered by Scotomolab for Helsinki Fashion Week7/27Patrick McDowell's digital designs
Designer Patrick McDowell, for a fashion show in July 2020, showed at a Vatican City in the clouds; viewers could pre-order physical garments, or claim a limited edition digital garment, which could be “dressed” on the customer’s picture or used in virtual spaces.
Carlings8/27Carlings's T-shirt filter
Brands have begun overlaying digital designs on physical t-shirts, using technology that uses an image, rather than a face, as a trigger for AR filters, such as this December 2019 example from Carlings. This allows customers to wear new designs on the same physical piece of apparel. (Pictured: Vice creative director Maria Cristina Saga, wearing the Carlings “address_the_future” t-shirt.)
Tommy Hilfiger9/27Tommy Hilfiger's virtual store
For the 2020 holiday season, Tommy Hilfiger’s virtual store had three colour-coded, themed rooms that looked and sounded like a store, including shoppable clothes. It evaluated customer engagement through a dashboard showing details such as product clicks, how various marketing channels tie back to sales, and the store’s ability to convert physical shoppers into multichannel ones.
Charlotte Tilbury10/27Charlotte Tilbury's virtual store
The Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Wonderland, which opened in November 2020, was fully integrated with the brand’s e-commerce website, including product prices and availability. It included a Charlotte avatar, live events, recorded tutorials and the ability to invite others to join via video. “I want you to feel like you are literally stepping into my world,” Tilbury said.
Balenciaga “Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow” Fall 21 video game11/27Balenciaga's “Afterworld”
Balenciaga introduced its Autumn 2021 collectsion as a device-agnostic video game that brought viewers through a digital store, a street and then into nature, throughout which avatars wore the collectsion.
Gucci12/27Gucci in Zepeto
Gucci opened a “Gucci Villa” on Zepeto, a South Korean social media app where users create avatars and socialise, in February 2021. Gucci has embarked on a broad strategy to create and occasionally sell digital clothing and accessories for avatars and games. This appeals to gamers by allowing them to express themselves, says Robert Triefus, Gucci’s EVP of brand and customer engagement, who outlined the brand’s gaming strategy at the Replica Handbag Store Business and TikTok Technology Forum.
Roblox13/27Gucci in Roblox
Gucci opened a first-of-its-kind experience for two weeks in Roblox. Avatars absorbed visual elements of the space, and people could buy digital items, some created in partnership with Roblox creator Rook Vanguard.
Mason Rothschild, Basic.Space14/27“Baby Birkin” NFT
A “Baby Birkin” NFT animation, created by Los Angeles-based creatives Mason Rothschild and Eric Ramirez, sold in a summer 2021 Basic.Space auction for the equivalent of $23,500. Hermès had no affiliation with the sale.
Auroboros15/27Auroboros at London Fashion Week
Auroboros, made up of Paula Sello and Alissa Aulbekova, was the first to show a digital-only ready-to-wear collectsion at a major global fashion week in June 2021 The 14-piece collectsion showed during London Fashion Week’s DiscoveryLAB amid other ready-to-wear brands.
Snapchat16/27Off-white's AR try-on
In May 2021, Farfetch began testing Snapchat’s apparel try-on tool with jackets from Virgil Abloh’s Off-White collectsion. Users can say, “show me a windbreaker jacket with a pattern,” and the front-facing camera will display a suggested item on the person’s body. They can then either share the image or buy it directly within Snapchat.
Snapchat17/27Prada's AR try-on
Prada was an early adopter of Snapchat's hands-free try-on tool that detects hand gestures, in May 2021. People can set down their phone, step away, and see how various Prada purses look on them by using a “swiping” hand gesture to change the colours.
Rtfkt18/27Rtfkt's AR try-on
In March, an Rtfkt digital sneaker drop sold $3.1 million worth of product. The Paris-based “digital Supreme” brand has been testing real-time AR try-on for six months, and released a viral video showing people wearing a whimsical puffer coat on Paris streets.
Gucci19/27Gucci's Aria film NFT
Gucci’s NFT film was part of a June NFT auction, with bidding starting at $20,000. The continuous loop was co-directed by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele and photographer and director Floria Sigismondi. Gucci said it “speaks to Aria’s overarching message, that of a yearning to bloom and flourish after the shadow of winter has passed”.
Burberry / Mythical Games20/27Burberry's Blankos Block Party
Burberry introduced its first NFTs through a collaboration with the Blankos Block Party game in August 2021, selling both characters and accessories that are NFTs.
Truesy21/27Nars Cosmetics NFT
Nars sold three commissioned NFT artworks through Truesy in August 2021. Three pieces sold at fixed prices, with various amounts and prices for each piece offered.
Louis Vuitton22/27Louis the Game
In August 2021, Louis Vuitton introduced a new game as part of its 200th anniversary celebration, including branded avatars; players could enter to win one of 30 free NFT postcards.
Water Dress by Clara Daguin (available on the DressX app)23/27AR try-on on DressX
Digital-only fashion marketplace DressX recently introduced an app that lets people try on digital clothing in real time (including this piece from designer Clara Daguin) instead of sending in photos to be digitally dressed. The use-cases and the user experience are becoming “better and better,” says Natalia Modenova, co-founder of DressX.
Balmain24/27Balmain's “flame” dress
- For its September issue, Vogue Singapore commissioned a “flame” NFT dress designed by Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing. In addition to receiving the 3D rendering and animation of the dress, with an an image of the dress virtually fitted on an image of them, the winning bidder receives Rousteing's sketches of the dress, and the ability to port the dress into the fashion gaming app Altava (formerly Unmateriality).
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Roblox25/27Vans in Roblox
In September 2021, Vans opened a virtual space in Roblox, where people can socialise, skate and create and wear custom shoes, which correspond with physical versions.
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Photo: Ralph Lauren26/27Ralph Lauren in Zepeto
In August 2021, Ralph Lauren opened a virtual “map” on Zepeto. The brand is selling 50 digital items based on both vintage and current designs. Ralph Lauren has previously created virtual stores and partnered with Bitmoji.
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DKNY27/27DNKY’s logo NFT
In September 2021, DKNY introduced its new logo as an NFT, which it auctioned to benefit the American Nurses Foundation.
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