Metaverse Fashion Week | A new format is writing fashion history.
Beyond its obvious success and despite some minor issues, Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week proves a whole industry's ability to overcome a great technological barrier forming in the horizon
This article was originally written by Demi Karanikolaou in Greek for Harper’s Bazaar Greece. You can find it here.
While clothes have been created, sold and worn by humans for millennia, the introduction of the fashion show format dates back to only the 1860s, when pioneering English-French fashion designer Charles Frederick Worth was the first couturier to use live models instead of mannequins in order to present his creations in Paris. Soon salons all over the world adopted the format of a presentation - as a small private affair for buyers - while banning photography in order to protect original designs. However, during the austerity of the war, traveling puppet trunk exhibitions replaced fashion shows to showcase designs to specific affluent women across different areas. Nevertheless, that austerity only lasted up to 1947 when the end of WW2 and Dior’s creation of the “New Look” opened up shows again to bigger audiences. With multiple fashion houses now showcasing collections during events, the concept of a fashion week was established first in New York in 1943, with Milan following in 1958 and Paris in 1973.
Previously reserved for the select few within the industry, fashion shows were partly democratized with the introduction of social media like Instagram and the livestreaming technology. But just as fashion shows became more accessible, many inside and outside of the industry started wondering if they were still relevant today. When Covid 19 hit and work from home increased digitization in all parts of our life, heritage houses were forced to start exploring virtual options, new formats and storytelling options. In a major shift, select houses embraced revolutionary technology such as virtual clothing and avatars (eg: Balenciaga), online gaming platforms and the new meeting points relevant with Gen Z culture (eg: Discord, Twitch), all of which are incredibly popular with younger generations. All of a sudden NFTs (non fungible assets), skins (game character clothing), virtual items and avatars started gaining incredible traction while cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana also skyrocketed, causing a seismic shift in global economy and sociopolitical balances.
Facing a potential new disruptor on the horizon, the luxury fashion industry decided to not repeat past mistakes. Indeed more than a decade ago, most of these heritage brands were hesitant to start exploring the internet quickly enough and suffered losses as a result. For this reason brands such as Burberry, Gucci, Jimmy Choo and more, rushed to create NFT collections and started experimenting with wearables, virtual sneakers, phygital items and more. But in 2022, the revolution is unpredictable. One of the main virtual reality platforms, Decentraland, started partnering up with big fashion, luxury and beauty conglomerates in a strategic move, in order to allow them to explore what their presence on the Metaverse could look like. Soon the idea of a Metaverse fashion week, mirroring the physical ones of Milan and Paris, was established. Indeed, the event that has just wrapped up, saw the first organized fashion week on the Metaverse taking place on Decentraland from March 24 to March 27 2022. 50 traditional physical fashion maisons and their purely virtual fashion counterparts debuted their virtual collections, while the free and open invitation event saw a series of NFT collectibles, wearables and phygital items being demonstrated within the platform’s prestigious “Luxury Fashion District”.
From the quirky animal print ensembles of Dolce & Gabbana to Etro’s folklore motifs and Dundas’ daring choices, designers made sure to present their version of the future. Auroboros and the Fabricant also showcased their detailed creations - only ever created in virtual form. Experiencing the waiting time and energy build up of a fashion show in a Metaverse environment felt surprisingly very familiar, especially considering that anyone could get a front row seat. Apart from the runway though, the Metaverse platform also saw couture creations from Elie Saab and Guo Pei exhibited in their own luxurious boutiques within the “Luxury Fashion District''. Brands like DKNY, Estee Lauder and more, created pop up spaces where users could interact with their offerings, learn more about their story and examine their products. Finally Selfridges has also opened the first “meta department store in the history of Web3,” accessible to anyone for fine crypto shopping. But the party - quite literally - did not stop there. Glamorous after show gatherings and collaborations like the Hogan x Exclusible party with the iconic DJ Bob Sinclar got both my avatar and my physical body dancing. On Sunday the Auroboros x Grimes event showed that mixing technology, fashion and music can create a completely new, yet very familiar type of experience. A rather strange but exciting experience, I saw people I know in real life, complimented strangers on their outfits and took multiple inspirational screenshots.
But what does this mean for fashion? Beyond its obvious success and despite some minor issues, Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week proves a whole industry's ability to overcome a great technological barrier forming in the horizon. Unlike previous decades when fashion companies missed their chance to become early adopters of e-commerce and social media, their current efforts on the Metaverse are now proving that they have matured and become more open minded. It also reminds us of the power behind the fashion show/presentation format, which is still as important today as the day that it was introduced, managing to evolve with the times, just as fashion itself. Indeed, within 20 minutes, a fashion show can demonstrate a designer’s vision of the future, evoke emotions and become a culture reference point. And while the platform's graphics need some improvement, Decentraland’s version proved that notion further. We can only hope that it will return for a second time around October.
