What will be the digital dress code in metaverse in near future?

You might be able to use your virtual closet to find a 3D-rendered outfit that you can “wear” instead of reaching into your closet.

As more companies look for digital fashion, this is what many in the fashion and tech industry are betting on. They are betting that those virtual outfits will not be just for Zoom calls but can eventually be worn across the “metaverse”, the concept of an interlinked extended real world, in games and social media. And, eventually, maybe even viewed on your actual body through augmented reality (AR).

McKinsey & Industry leaders looked forward to this new frontier in The Business of Fashion and Company’s annual “State of Fashion”. According to the report, Gucci’s chief market officer Robert Triefus stated that “there are more and more second worlds” where you can express yourself. DressX is one of the digital fashion marketplaces that has recently been opened. It hopes that customers will be eager to create a virtual wardrobe.

It is not new to outfit our digital avatars. This includes making pixelated Dollz back in 2000s and shopping today for new wardrobes in Animal Crossing. Digital fashion has been a result of the videogame industry, which recently created outfits (or “skins”) in Fortnite and Overwatch.

Major fashion brands have begun to capitalize on the gaming market. In 2019, Louis Vuitton created skins for League of Legends. Ralph Lauren and Nike have offered avatar accessories through Roblox, a virtual world-building platform. Non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) that use blockchain technology to verify the ownership of digital assets have also allowed digital fashion to become more widely monetized. Dolce & Gabbana sold out their NFT collection for 1,885.719 ETH this fall. Gabbana’s NFT line sold for 1,885.719ETH, which was equivalent to $6 million at the time.

The pandemic and remote work have also sparked discussions about virtual worlds. The increased interest in Facebook’s new brand, “Meta”, has only fueled more. (Mark Zuckerberg, in a keynote address at Meta’s Connect 2021 conference acknowledged that there will be a “manufacture of virtual clothes for different occasions” within the metaverse.)

Fashion designers had to be creative with how they presented their clothes last year since there were no runway shows. American luxury label Hanifa presented a digital show, which omitted human models and instead featured floating heads wearing 3D-renders. Roderic Wong, Andrea Jiapei Li, and Xu Zhi from China, also showcased collections at Shanghai Fashion Week through an AR virtual display.

“Brands realized they had to create digital showrooms…to sell their collection in 2022,” Karinna Grant, co-founder of the NFT fashion marketplace The Dematerialised, said in a telephone call. She said that consumers now have new ways to see clothes digitally because of this.

The Dematerialised allows you to access NFT fashion via limited “drops.” The secondary market allows you to trade accessories and outfits.

The first wave of digital fashion marketplaces arrived in a flash. Sites like Replicant, The Dematerialised, and DressX offer varying functionality, but are still limited. The latter overlays your photo with clothes within 24 hours. Snapchat users can “try on” digital clothes through AR. Instagram also offers AR clothing filters.

Gucci, Prada and Rebecca Minkoff are all keen to get into this space. Minkoff sells digital versions of her latest collection on The Dematerialised, which is priced between 50 and 500 euros ($56-$562), and it sold out almost immediately. Nike just announced that it has acquired RTFKT, an collective that creates virtual kicks and other digital collectibles.

Replacing the physical

Grant sees three possible ways to use digital garments as the field develops. Grant can wear them through AR, outfit your avatars and mint them as NFTs that can be traded and collected. The last option has seen an increase in demand in the digital art sector.

Why should we change our clothes? Digital outfits can be used to express your creativity.

“Clothing is an expression of a personality.” Simon Whitehouse, former head of label JW Andersen, spoke via video. He is now the director of Eco Age, a sustainability agency. EBIT, his artist collective, has recently launched “Yellow Trip Road”, a game that focuses on mental health. It includes the ability to buy digital outfits called “Bumper jumpers” as NFTs.

Daria Shapovalova, founder of DressX, in a digital design created by Auroboros. Virtual fashion is a creative and sustainable way to wear luxury fashion at an affordable price, according to its proponents.

DressX allows shoppers to purchase gravity-defying scifi looks from Auroboros, a “tech-couture brand.” Some elements are impossible to manufacture and may take weeks for a fashion house or cosplay designer to create physically. Virtual outfits are also a cheaper option for luxury brands, such as Gucci’s digital-only sneakers that cost $12 this spring.

Caitlin Monahan (consumer tech strategist at trend forecasting company WGSN) said that it’s a good entry point, where you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars but can still be involved with a brand.
She explained that it is “incredibly profitable” for brands to sell clothes and not produce physical garments. Virtual fashion is also more sustainable.

Monahan stated, “It’s reinventing a whole supply chain.” “There is very little water consumption and very low CO2 emissions. No samples are sent out or returned. There are no display rooms and no physical prototyping.

Digital fashion can be a very lucrative way for brands to sell clothing without actually producing it. Although there are not many data available on the impact of digital fashion on the environment, DressX’s 2020 sustainability report shows that digital fashion produces 97% less carbon than physical clothes and uses 3,300 liters less water per item. Daria Shapovalova, the marketplace’s founders and Natalia Modenova, were initially interested in the influencer market, as influencers are often given clothes by brands for one image. However, the pair recently partnered with several brands and publishers, including Vogue Singapore and Google Pixel, to make the company’s capabilities more accessible to a wider audience.
Shapovalova said, “We’re working to popularize digital fashion and mass adoption of it.” DressX is planning an NFT marketplace, which will give some designs more exclusivity as well as the possibility to sell them on the secondary markets. NFT-minted garments will be less durable than those made from non-minted digital clothes due to the carbon emissions associated with blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. However, Whitehouse and Grant suggested more eco-friendly methods of building NFT platforms. For example, using blockchains that use a “proof of stake” system or offering fiat money as payment.

Monahan stated, “As more and larger players enter the market for software, I believe even more options will arise.” Virtual fashion adoption could have a positive impact on an industry that contributes significantly to global carbon emissions and plastic pollution in the ocean. As long as it succeeds in replacing some of your clothes and not just adding, then virtual fashion can be a positive influence.
Whitehouse stated that “we don’t have any more physical goods” on the planet. “Look at the pollution in landfills around the globe. Fashion is one of the five most polluting industries on the planet.

A connected future

The fashion industry is increasingly moving into virtual reality, and the demand for it may outpace its technology. Irene Marie Seelig, CEO of AnamXR and cofounder, said that a single wardrobe can be used in multiple environments, as well as social media. The digital fur coat that you just bought won’t work with other applications will be incompatible.

Although some critics doubt that there will ever be a metaverse, it is possible to achieve the utopic “open” metaverse with one wardrobe. Grant explained that certain virtual worlds may require specific graphics cards or crypto wallets to function. This could also raise IP issues. Will tech companies be open to sharing the metaverse space with others?