Fashion Industry In The Meta Universe

After joining hands with Adidas origins to enter the NFT field at the beginning of this year, prada announced a few days ago that it would further expand its creative design to Web3 and independently sell the new timecapsule NFT series. Since June 2, it plans to launch a new timecapsule series every month with NFT as a gift. Meanwhile, prada crypted, a brand-new community, will be launched on discord Architecture, film, music and Web3 are closely connected to provide a platform for exchanging ideas and inspiration.

Prada releases timecapsule NFT series

Gucci also launched Gucci town in roblox again after opening a two-week limited time space Gucci garden in roblox last year to provide players with a more lasting virtual experience.

In addition to mini game space, cafes and a virtual store, gucci town also includes a central garden that links the areas. Nicolas Oudinot, executive vice president of Gucci's new business and CEO of Gucci vault, said: "the starting point of virtual experience has always been community, and based on this, we envision the future as a long-term dialogue between Gucci and players."  

Gucci Town

Not only Prada and Gucci, but also the fashion industry's enthusiasm for the meta universe is not limited to the level of virtual goods, but also from virtual stores, entertainment and social space, to the first meta universe fashion week, and more and more fashion brands participate in meta universe real estate transactions on virtual platforms such as sand box and decentraland. This virtual world is more and more full of infinite possibilities, It has released a huge attraction to the fashion industry, and has constructed more and more new demand and value embryonic forms in the consumer market.

However, compared with creating new needs, meeting unmet needs can create business value more quickly. Fashion consumption under the concept of meta universe is no exception.  

At present, there are basically two types of enterprises on the digital fashion track for embracing the meta universe in the Chinese market: one is that new consumption promotes new design, which is born to meet the dress needs of users (consumers, enterprises or brands) in the virtual world, which is more like technology companies; The other is the traditional enterprises which rely on digital transformation to reshape the brand with digital fashion. For these enterprises, a 10-year-old virtual clothing brand founded only for dating in the virtual world shows more business imagination in the new category of virtual clothing brand.  

Be launches the "Dear Evan Hansen" polo shirt series on roblox platform, and the physical version is sold in Bloomingdale's department store

It has been 10 years since the creation of fashion and bluewear Courtesy (hereinafter referred to as be) is the best evidence. At the time of the prosperity of the meta universe, Mishi McDuff, CEO of the company, took this opportunity to trace back the stories and opportunities that accompanied the meta universe and the fashion industry.

Since its launch in 2012, second life (an online game) has promoted the rapid development of be. Be has sold more than 20 million virtual clothing products, and recently launched the "fashion excellence" collaboration series with designer Jonathan simkhai at fashion week, with the Broadway show "Dear Evan Hansen" on roblox, a meta universe platform.  

Among them, the virtual version of the iconic blue striped polo shirt will be sold on mainstream online platforms, while the same physical clothing will be sold in Bloomingdale's department store.

Before founding be, McDuff had a common problem that many people encounter in their lives: clothing jealousy, even if she was at a virtual concert in second life.  

"If my avatar is only wearing the initial costume, I feel very uncomfortable. Others are dressed very cool, some are fairies, some are models, I'm just wearing the most basic clothes." And when McDuff, wearing a pink polka dot dress, was asked by other tourists at a virtual concert if she could buy it, she realized it was an opportunity, McDuff said. "Self expression is important in any social setting, just as important as it is in real social situations, because it is still a real social relationship, such as online love and communicating with real-life friends in the virtual world, and the motivation behind it is the same."  

Ten years ago, be's first-year virtual clothing sales were $60000. Two years later, the number reached more than 1 million, and that was just the situation at that time.  

McDuff's be works with designer Jonathan simkhai to host meta universe Fashion Week

Now, McDuff is working on projects, such as a collaboration series with simkhai, to transform his collection, which he launched in the fall of 2022, into a virtual version for virtual avatars to wear. After the launch, it and digital clothing brand be are planning to launch ar clothing, so that more users on social platforms such as snapchat, tiktok or instagram have the opportunity to express themselves through virtual clothing.

Referring to the significance of virtual avatar for players, McDuff believes that in the virtual world, it will make self-expression easier, just like the interesting phenomenon that virtual "stretch marks" have become one of the most popular virtual wearers.

This is McDuff's collaboration with another founder, who said: "in fact, we are so insecure about certain things in real life, but we are more tolerant of appearance in the virtual world, so that people feel more comfortable expressing themselves in the virtual world."  

I'm not a psychologist, but as a woman, I think it's empowerment. Because I've seen other women accept what's described as a defect and really make it a part of our lives and self-expression, even in the meta universe.

As mentioned by mchaff, how to integrate with fashion and fashion team is still more and more widely expressed in the virtual world week. In particular, in the process of working with Jonathan simkhai, I learned the professional knowledge of fashion design, "I hope I can pay attention to the wear and tear of virtual clothing like the original digital player, which adds a bit of realism to the virtual clothing, and the cooperation with Jonathan simkhai makes me realize that it is sometimes wrong to have our design details, such as the way the cloth is hung down."  

In addition, just as more and more fashion brands launch virtual goods on different platforms, McDuff believes that it is not so much selling virtual clothes as selling an experience and building a community. Just like roblox, which has cooperated with vans, Nike and other brands, the appearance of brand in virtual space is essentially to encourage users to express themselves. This 3D experience can bring brand lovers together in a more real and interactive way.

Roblox has worked with vans, Nike and other brands for many times

"There are a lot of digital creators in the fashion industry in the meta universe, and the trend of trends is changing very fast. A week in the meta universe is a bit like a month in real life. Everything is moving faster. If the brand is just a series release without early publicity, it is difficult to attract consumers," McDuff said.  

Therefore, in such a development context where technology and value coexist, fashion products are not only a product, but also build a community around it. Brands will listen to the feedback of community members or create with them. McDuff said: "We will make our progress known to users, get feedback from community members, and change it at any time before the product is actually released. So I think this is a convenient and instant communication mode between physical brands and digital indigenous communities, which is why I think it is a win-win situation for physical brands to cooperate with digital brands that have established communities. Because we can Get their community deeply involved, get them involved and feel part of the brand. "

Although according to the current participation of fashion industry in the meta universe world, it is difficult to imagine the future development speed or scale, and even there is a considerable degree of unknown, but McDuff still believes that digital native designers in the virtual world will bring more changes to the fashion industry.

"For example, a 13-year-old might be a Chanel in a certain community. I think we'll see a lot of such cases. I think there will be more brands willing to work with these digital native designers," McDuff said.