Nowadays, your closet doesnât solely belong in your home; it can be anywhere you want, even in another âuniverseâ, the evolution of the internet has shifted our habits from buying physical clothes in stores, to online shopping, and we all thought that would be the peak of fashion digitalisation.
In the last few years, the concept of digital clothing has developed rapidly, who would have thought we could own and buy garments digitally?
Defined as âa simulated digital environment that uses augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and blockchain, along with concepts from social media, to create spaces for rich user interaction mimicking the real worldâ, Metaverse sounds completely unimaginable at first.
Zuckerberg presented its possibilities in his keynote, where he shared the latest progress Meta AI is making in areas like self-supervised learning and computer vision.
The roadmap that Metaverse has created, building the bridges between NFTâs, blockchain, and fast-paced industries such as real estate, gaming and, of course, fashion. Fashion is one of the first industries that benefited from these new concepts and, to this moment, has helped them outgrow their initial potential. Metaverse and the biggest fashion houses tagged along with a common goal: to reinvent the way consumers experience fashion using digital spaces and offer much more than a piece of clothing.
So, why should we feel the excitement about this when this so-called âmetaverseâ isnât real? Do we really care what our avatars are wearing when we can wear the same clothes in real life?
It might not be for everyone, but the industry is pushing it forward, and it seems the younger generations are curious about what will happen next in the digital world.
Also, Gen-Z, (and in the future Gen-A), will be a key player in the metaverseâs long term growth. âBrands must have the ability to understand the motivations of the generation that occupies these digital worlds or spaces. This audience is driven by a very strong sense of self, the need to project value systems, while constantly seeking the presence of community. These spaces will be temporal in nature and dynamic, forming and dissolving spontaneously. At the end of the day, the success and failure of a brand in the metaverse will be dependent on how well they reflect the value systems of such a communityâ, said Natalia Modenova, the founder of DRESSX AR wardrobe app.
Younger generations (especially Gen-Z) are bringing new rules for the fashion industry, and the industry needs to adapt. That is why Balenciaga rushed to create an entire separate unit dedicated to this business!
And although the Metaverse, as a business model, is not fully developed yet, NFTs are bringing this creative playground to life. It is certain that the Metaverse will be based on the existence of this and other elements from the blockchain that are interesting to youngsters, but their affection for creative and luxury brands is where the power really lies. After all, isnât that the reason we all still want to wear those unique designs?
Metafashion will become available for wearing, gifting, and trading, not completely replacing physical clothing, but definitely becoming an integral part of the fashion metaverse.
To comprehend the situation around the Metaverse, itâs important to remember we should not think about where fashion is at the moment, but to shape, create it together with younger generations and leave them to advance with the industry and technology. Here comes the future, and we canât wait to âwearâ it!