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Digital fashion has been on the rise for years. More and more shoppers are packing clothes, perfumes, etc. into their virtual shopping bags in the metaverse
Digital fashion: dematerialised clothes for well-dressed avatars
Digital fashion is one of the most popular words when it comes to the metaverse, Internet 3.0. Digital fashion differs from conventional clothing – and yet it seems to evoke the same emotions and desires. How else to explain people spending thousands of euros on a virtual luxury bag?
- Unlike conventional clothing, digital fashion is not tactile. As the “owner” of the fashion, you cannot touch the items and therefore cannot wear them. Digital fashion only exists digitally and is made visible and tangible using technologies such as augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR).
- Digital fashion is therefore not bought for yourself, but exclusively for your avatar that you move with in the Metaverse. When you buy digital fashion, your avatar can try it on and wear it – whether it’s clothes, shoes, jewellery or accessories. You can even buy perfumes from luxury brands and “spray” them on your avatar.
- In the metaverse, fashion is dematerialized. The lines are blurred, so you can start the day with a “real” breakfast in the offline world, and then move into the virtual meeting space and let your avatar act there.
- Digital fashion still has a relatively short history. In 2019, luxury brand Louis Vuitton launched the first “skins” for the game League of Legends. This was followed by digital costumes that could be purchased in-game. If you prefer to play
- Fortnite, there you can purchase clothes from Balenciaga or Moncler
- 2021 Gucci launched “Gucci Town” on the Roblox online gaming platform. There you can play as an avatar, communicate, meet virtual friends and create your own worlds. Even Gucci’s Flora fragrance has been given its own garden, where the avatar of campaign face Miley Cyrus walks around. You can purchase the digital perfume for your avatar in a double-G backpack in the online store.
- The first Metaverse Fashion Weeks have also already taken place, including on the Decentraland platform. There, brands such as Etro, Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana presented their digital fashion on digital models on the digital catwalks. Tommy Hilfiger also held its physical show in New York in parallel as an avatar version in Roblox. Both the real and digital collections were available for purchase immediately.
Advantages and disadvantages at a glance.
Digital fashion can be used and utilized in a variety of ways. In addition to the digital fashion shows already mentioned, it is also used on posters and for advertising campaigns, as well as in video games. This makes the virtual experience more real and stylish.
- You can also dress your avatar appropriately for a virtual meeting and present yourself across national borders. Virtual clothing can also be used on your avatar for conversations in Zoom or Teams and in the social media area. Basically, the metaverse is also about getting noticed and showing what you’ve got. Clothes make the person, and this applies to avatars as well
- Digital fashion has the great advantage that the design possibilities are limitless. Materials, shapes, colours – everything can be created, combined and changed according to the mood. There are no restrictions on fabrics, colours can change in seconds, as can the patterns and surface of the ‘material’.
- The other advantage: digital fashion is sustainable as it saves resources. No materials are needed, nor are large amounts of water or environmentally harmful substances used during the production process.
- Digital fashion also has disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages is that it simply does not exist – and in some cases may never exist. When a digital garment is created in the digital world that crosses all physical boundaries in the real world, all that is left is the thought “I wish I could wear that in the real world.” Sometimes this can be frustrating and the magic of digital fashion can quickly evaporate.
- Plus, the concept of digital fashion takes some getting used to. People buy “nothing” for a lot of money. 350,000 for a virtual handbag from a luxury company? Sounds crazy – and it kind of is, but there are buyers/insiders
At the same time, the digital fashion phenomenon clearly shows that fashion has long ceased to be solely about material value. Value is now unreal, idealised and used for status or group affiliation.
How to shop digital fashion
If you want to buy digital fashion, you can’t just walk into any store. However, buying digital clothing is not complicated. Generally speaking, there are two ways to buy digital fashion.
- First, brands offer their digital fashion directly through their online store or through a dedicated page. You enter a virtual dressing room where your avatar can try on all the clothes. If you like a garment, you can buy it and pay for it directly (similar to online shopping).
- Secondly, there are now several digital fashion marketplaces where you can buy digital clothes and accessories. On DRESSX, Replicant or Auroboros, you can put the products you want in your shopping cart and pay for them – similar to e-commerce platforms. You can then “try on” the garment on an avatar or on an uploaded photo of yourself.
