Where are we going to wear digital fashion? In Harry and Megan’s Metaverse?
What happens to trends and street style in a world of a thousand metaverses?
Where are we going to wear digital fashion?
In Harry and Megan’s Metaverse?
I wanted to write about this year being the year for digital collectibles as Christmas gifts. And I still think that idea holds water. The trend for collecting digital fashion, either as standalone collectibles, phygitals, or for access to other experiences/membership/etc, is definitely gaining traction.
But Harry and Megan are starting a metaverse. What can one say about a celebrity couple making their own metaverse? Even if it’s just PR play. Even if it’s actually just a location in pax.world. The hubris? Huge media companies grapple with what content would make an immersive, branded gaming experience worthwhile, which is why many tack on to gaming environments to harness the engagement and enjoyment already built in. Starting from scratch to stream your podcast? If anyone has the star wattage to draw the crowds and what seems like an infinite desire to tell their side of the story, I guess it’s these two.
The most popular metaverse-esque environments have different visual aesthetics, thanks to the technology underpinning their graphics. But usually, the visuals aren’t photorealistic, different from what we expect on runways, in street style snaps, on everyday people at the mall, and in pop culture. On the other hand, start-ups like Dress-X cater to a more social-media-friendly use case with fashion that fits my millennial comfort zone. Is there room for both?
What does this have to do with Harry and Megan? Fashion is a massive creative/commercial endeavor because of its utility and constraints. Here on planet earth, we cover our bodies in public.
But, in the metaverse, how many places for self-expression can there be? Is it truly limitless? Harry and Megan’s foray suggests yes, there will be infinite spaces to encounter and interact with a brand, more like Instagram pages than worlds.
The platforms that lend themselves to fashion, the high-fidelity ones visually, are either Web2 social media or gaming, but while Fortnite has a bustling skins marketplace and a Balenciaga collab, it doesn’t seem like it’s a street-style hub. (Correct me if I’m wrong) With the tyranny of sameness to all “street” style thanks to Insta, what happens to “cool” and “trends” when the venues all look different, on a pixel or voxel* level?
*In 3D computer graphics, a voxel represents a value on a regular grid in three-dimensional space.
Four possible scenarios for trends:
There’s a total split. Digital self-expression has nothing to do with IRL self-expression, and phygitals will be more like siblings than twins. Designs may lean more futuristic or more revealing than is possible due to physics or propriety.
We’ll use web2 platforms in more web3 ways. Certainly, Instagram would like you to use NFTs on their platform. Could that extend to digital fashion? The real use case for digital fashion is in a 2d world.
We’ll platform shift. Like people use Snapchat for the filters and move to Instagram to post. There will be a few major platforms, and visual styles, and each will have an ecosystem of what defines style. THe dominant style platforms may not be hte dominant social platforms and thus you might start seeing more Roblox, cartoon-y avatars in places where you expect photo-realism or actual realism, like TikTok.
Decentralization will come for Fashion with a capital F. Decentralization is a key tenet of Web3, the idea that we shouldn’t let centralized systems reap the benefits of our consumer data or own the trust of our banking data. Already, Roblox counts 11.5 million designers. RTFKT, bought by Nike, has said there will be co-creation on upcoming sneaker releases. The floodgates are open to young talent to design for an essentially limitless digital world. There will, in fact, be thousands of worlds, like Harry and Megan’s, and each will have a visual identity that users will harness to make their own visual identity.
Will this give rise to true individuality? Or will new systems, based on the idea of creative self-expression but not on the utility that apparel conveys, become the dominant, trend-driving force, leading to a shift from IRL to virtual revenue? Already HM’s new collection is inspired by the metaverse and vice versa.
In practice, probably some version of all of these will come true in the near-term but in terms of driving the most trends, measured by revenue, I think it’s anyone’s guess as to the winner.
Another day I’ll tackle– Does removing corporal constraints like the supply chain change trend cycles and diversity of thought? Maybe? Check out this great post from Draup on the trend of the puffer coat in virtual fashion. You can make ANYTHING you want in CLO3D and it seems most people make a puffer coat. Plus ca change….
Next week - T’is the season (to try innovative, flashy e-comm ideas) a round-up of the Web3 Christmas shopping activation.
Want to read it?
Some more reading on the topic:
Jing Daily breaks down the top fashion gaming collabs
Harry and Megan metaverse announcement
HM’s new collection is inspired by the metaverse
Draup on the trend of the puffer coat in virtual fashion