New York, London, Milan and Paris are still the four major fashion week capitals of the world, but in recent years they’ve been joined by a growing roster of smaller start-ups: from Copenhagen to Shanghai and Stockholm to Tbilisi. The latest addition? Decentraland.
Don’t worry; your geography knowledge isn’t failing you. Decentraland is not a physical place; it’s a virtual reality platform which is hosting the first ever Metaverse Fashion Week this week.
From March 24 to March 27, 50 brands will debut virtual collections in the platform’s new Luxury Fashion District, which has been modelled on Paris’ Avenue Montaigne. Virtual real estate company Metaverse Group purchased the 6,000-square-foot plot last November for a record $2.4 million. The event is totally free and open to anyone with Internet connection, and unlike traditional fashion weeks, no tickets or private invitations are needed.
Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Estee Lauder, Etro and Roberto Cavalli are among the headline acts. They’ll be showing digital clothing (for avatar wear) on virtual runways and selling a mix of NFTs and digital pieces from their Decentraland stores. Selfridges has opened the first “meta department store in the history of Web3,” where anyone can interact as a guest, or attach their crypto wallet to get shopping.
“Fashion must be democratic and opened to everyone and not only opened to the industry itself” said fashion designer Philipp Plein, who hosted a metaverse fashion show on Thursday in which he dropped his first digital capsule collection of outfits represented by wearable NFTs. Anyone purchasing one of these digital items of clothing will be doing so in order that their digital avatar can look more stylish.
Dolce & Gabbana, which incorporated a virtual element into its show in Milan in February, last night held its first entirely virtual fashion show in the metaverse, with the bespoke looks available to view post-show in a virtual pop-up show in Decentraland’s Luxury Fashion District.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are “committed” to the metaverse, they say, and have outlined plans to launch an exclusive NFT membership scheme called ‘DGFamily.’ The two-year subscription is open to anyone paying the yet-to-be-disclosed fee and promises “a unique ecosystem of benefits across both the physical universe and the metaverse,” - think exclusive drops and collaborations (both digital and IRL) and access to exclusive digital and physical D&G events.
“It is the digital equivalent of one of the cornerstones of the brand’s DNA: the idea of family, a community of people who find themselves united by shared passion and value,” says D&G. “When technology is at the service of people and their dreams, it becomes an even more powerful tool.”
Etro’s also hosting its first metaverse runway show on Friday, with special a gender-fluid offering in tis signature paisley print that will be available to shop in both digital version (at the Decentraland pop-up) and real life wearable version (on the Etro site) post-show. Rather than devise a cool outfit for the street style paps, showgoers are advised to create their own avatar to sit FROW.
Hogan meanwhile is debuting its NFT collection at an “afterparty” in Decentraland on Saturday, which one imagines will be almost exactly like a fashion week party just minus the free booze, Naomi Campbell sightings and queues for the loos. A real life DJ Bob Sinclair is hosting (presumably in avatar form?), and the ‘party’ will feature the virtual world’s first ever dance competition. Closing the whole MVFW event will be an experience organised by digital fashion house Auroboros, featuring a performance from Grimes.
It all sounds very reminiscent of our somewhat depressing lockdown attempts to go clubbing on Zoom. The sun is shining and London’s glorious pubs are open… remind me what’s wrong with meeting up in person, wearing real life clothes?
