From Dolce & Gabanna to Giuseppe Zanotti, leading fashion brands used Ethereum-based Decentraland to engage with new consumers in this virtual experiment.
This past weekend, Decentraland sponsored Metaverse Fashion Week, or MVFW, a four-day digital fashion event that featured virtual runways, discussion panels, and shopping experiences. Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder, and Elie Saab were among the brands that took part, as were Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder, and Elie Saab.
Meanwhile, digital-native fashion brands Auroboros, DressX, and republiqe staged immersive spaces and businesses within specified fashion districts denoted by map locations. As with New York Fashion Week, which takes place throughout multiple city boroughs, Decentraland’s MVFW took place in multiple districts.
Dolce & Gabbana creates a figurative catwalk
Dolce & Gabanna revealed twenty complete looks of Metaverse wearables created just for Metaverse Fashion Week. They showcased the collection using cat-faced avatar models, a play on the word “catwalk.” Following the show, the entire collection was available for viewing at an exclusive Dolce & Gabbana pop-up in Decentraland’s Luxury Fashion District, coordinated by luxury marketplace UNXD. UNXD and Vogue Arabia were Decentraland’s primary partners in selecting the conventional fashion companies during MVFW.
Dolce & Gabbana recently sold a series of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for approximately $6 million as part of another collection made in collaboration with UNXD. D&G’s next venture into the Metaverse will be the debut of the DGFamily NFT Community, which will provide members with unique access to physical and digital drops, as well as wearables. Airdrops from this MVFW collection will be distributed to DGFamily members.
#DolceGabbana showcases at the First Metaverse Virtual Fashion Week hosted by @decentraland in partnership with @unxd_nft.
Enter the metaverse and explore the Dolce&Gabbana pop-up at https://t.co/intOw2lxfy pic.twitter.com/pjo7rn4BMQ
— Dolce & Gabbana (@dolcegabbana) March 25, 2022
Etro’s forthcoming collection makes its runway appearance
On the other hand, Etro chose to preview a real-world collection for their inaugural Metaverse fashion presentation. The collection, dubbed Liquid Paisley, features women’s and men’s ready-to-wear styles worn by twenty avatar models and pays homage to one of the fashion house’s most iconic designs and color palettes. Additionally, it features a selection of must-have accessories, like handbags, hats, and shoes. Etro also opened a pop-up boutique in the UNXD Luxury District in collaboration with UNXD.
👕👗@EtroOfficial revealed the Liquid Paisley collection at the Metaverse Fashion Week, in partnership with @UNXD_NFT. Be sure to visit the boutique in the Luxury District!
💧These wearables will be airdropped to Decentraland users. Submit your wallet address below by March 31! pic.twitter.com/hHqicwZh1i— Decentraland (@decentraland) March 26, 2022
Cointelegraph spoke with Shashi Menon, publisher of Vogue Arabia based in Dubai and co-founder and CEO of UNXD, about why so many luxury brands are getting on the Metaverse bandwagon. Menon explained that the concept of establishing a real fashion week “was the perfect jumping-off point because it resembled something familiar.” According to him, “the most effective approach to entice individuals into an unknown place is to employ something they are familiar with.”
Italian footwear brands make their debut in Decentraland
Hogan and Giuseppe Zanotti, two further Italian companies, introduced NFT collections. Hogan, a TOD’S Group brand, launched the “Untraditional” NFT line of the brand’s first sneaker in conjunction with Exclusible, a platform for premium NFTs and metaverse activations. They established a pop-up store residency in Decentraland’s metaverse marketplace in order to sell their physical products as redeemable NFTs within the Boson Portal. The collection was designed by five NFT artists, chosen by the creative firm Braw Haus.
Similarly, Italian footwear designer Giuseppe Zanotti collaborated with the renowned NFT community DeadFellaz and the neuno NFT marketplace to release a series of shoe NFTs for MVFW. This collaboration features a digital-exclusive Giuseppe Zanotti COBRAS sneaker. In 2021, Zanotti released the real version of these brilliant green snakeskin shoes. While Deadfellaz is also selling real clothes via Boson Protocol, neuno is providing its neuCard VIP members with a green bucket hat, two shirts, and a bomber jacket to accompany the COBRAS.
Republique is a retailer of upscale accessories
Fashion house that is metaverse-ready republiqe collaborated with Monnier, a Paris-based e-commerce platform, to open a virtual accessories store within Decentraland’s Luxury Fashion District. COACH, a brand based in the United States, was one of the brands in the shop that converted an existing physical item into an NFT wearable. Republiqe collaborated with COACH to develop the brand’s first-ever NFT of the “Pillow Tabby Shoulder” handbag.
Republiqe, a clothing brand, displayed five bespoke ensembles for its store and collaborated with labels such as Axel Arigato, Ester Manas, Wandler, and Osoi. This virtual shop enables users of Decentraland to stroll in, view, and purchase designer clothes.
Metaverse Fashion Week has finally arrived!!!
Our store in Decentraland with MONNIER Paris goes live at 4pm today!!
We have a number of NFT wearables available from top brands, this is not to be missed!!!
to come and experience for yourself head to https://t.co/AIcEGb3hGt pic.twitter.com/NZsNPpZq5U
— republiqe clothing (@RepubliqeC) March 24, 2022
Other Useful Information
Fashion NFTs are certainly a hot trend, with an increasing number of mainstream designers launching NFT collections in the Metaverse this year. Furthermore, as fashionistas increasingly rely on NFTs to express their style on Web3 platforms and in the real world, the future of digital fashion is likely to favor those with the first mover advantage.
Along with the runway presentations in Decentraland, DressX collaborated with Fendi to create digital outfits for an interview spread in January’s Haute Living magazine. It was the first fashion magazine cover in the United States to include digitally rendered expensive designer outfits on a human, with the designs then available for purchase straight on the Fendi website.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
