Metaverse Fashion Week has been one of the biggest virtual events bringing together the digital world of metaverse and fashion brands. It takes place in the metaverse platform Decentraland.

What is Decentraland?

Decentraland is a 3D virtual world where users develop avatars to represent themselves. They can buy virtual land and other virtual products like digital wearables and art too. The platform uses the Ethereum blockchain to log all its transactions and the native currency used is called MANA.

Metaverse Fashion Week 2023

Metaverse Fashion Week 2023 took place from 28th March to 31st March. Also known as MVFW, the second iteration of the mega virtual event saw more than 60 designers, artists, fashion, luxury and beauty brands participating. The brand chose to showcase their digital selves in different ways, in-line with their overall metaverse strategies. For some brands, this event fit perfectly into their existing metaverse strategies.

Decentraland made several improvements based on user feedback from the first edition of the event. For the 2023 version, the users had access to a clear map of all the MVFW 2023 events and spaces. Users could simply click on the map button, present at all times on the screen, and click on whichever location they wanted to explore. There was also a schedule available in a similar fashion. Overall, this made the user experience much easier and it was simpler to navigate through the 4-day event without the fear of missing out.

Adidas

Adidas participated for the first time in the MVFW by introducing their “Virtual Gear” collection during a fashion show during the 4-day event. The show took place at the main stage created within the virtual land of Decentraland, with digital avatar-like models sporting the special collection.

The blockchain-based virtual wearables were first released as NFTs in December 2022. The project was a part of Adidas Originals line, for which the brand created a buzz in the Adidas discord community. The event on Decentraland to showcase this collection summarized it as -

Joining MVFW for the first time ever, adidas will bring their Virtual Gear collection to Decentraland as an exclusive drop of Linked Wearables. As a first Metaverse application of Virtual Gear, adidas presents its iconic wearables with unique makeup looks crafted for the occasion.

The aim of the Adidas team was to be able to gauge the advantage of being able to deliver wearables compatible with various platforms. The Virtual Gear collection, before the showcase at MVFW, was available in three forms: inside users’ digital wallet (as NFTs), as profile pictures (PFP) and through Adidas atelier which is a branded profile picture styling tool.

After the collaboration with Decentraland, the users could also use the digital products as a part of their avatar’s look. All Virtual Gear NFT holders were given a 3D twin of their NFT which could be worn during the event. The idea was to have cross-platform compatibility for the collection.

Alo Yoga

Athleisure brand Alo Yoga already has experience in creating wellness experiences for their users digitally. In the past, the brand has collaborated with The Sandbox, another metaverse platform. As an extension of its already existing metaverse projects, Alo Yoga participated in Metaverse Fashion Week in March 2023 in Decentraland. The brand hosted meditation classes during the event where digital avatars of Decentraland users could come visit the virtual space to engage in wellness.

The meditation classes took place in the main stage arena of the event, which was also used by other brands to host fashion shows. The circular stage had multiple virtual screens which projected the video of the meditation class. The classes took place every day and offered a calm vibe before the day’s events began.

Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger took part in the digital fashion week for the second time. This time, though, the brand decided to pioneer a never-seen-before digital experience. The brand has been an active participant in the metaverse space, with presence across platforms like Roblox, Spatial, Ready Player Me, and DressX. The designer decided it was time to bring these platforms together to make it easy for users to transport from one place to another.

Tommy Hilfiger created a hub where could move from Decentraland to other platforms. The experience started with the Tommy Hilfiger “space” that was created within Decentraland. As soon as the user’s avatar was about to enter the space, they were notified that they were about to enter it and the screen displayed the list of “Tasks”.

Inside the Tommy Hilfiger space was the link to enter the TH Hub, made in collaboration with tech company Emperia. Emperia described the virtual space as an iconic monolithic structure constructed exclusively of the ‘TH’ monogram, offering a remarkable shopping experience. The digital hub featured DressX digital fashion, AR, gamification, and a community-driven competition, all thoughtfully designed to elevate the shopping journey.

The multi-metaverse hub showcased four exclusive items, including the renowned Tommy Hilfiger Varsity Jacket, presented in diverse aesthetic representations across all platforms. Notably, customers could purchase the Varsity Jacket in physical form at the Emperia hub or opt for the digital version available on the Ready Player Me platform, which seamlessly integrates with numerous games and environments. The brand created a wearable Tommy Letterman Varsity Jacket which could be worn across all the platforms. So the users who owned this digital collectible could experience wearing it throughout their journey, regardless of which metaverse they choose to be in.

Hugo Boss

On 16th March, Hugo Boss showcased the BOSS Spring/Summer 2023 Fashion Show at the waterfront in Miami. The brand decided to participate in the MVFW keeping the same mood and theme of this fashion show.

They created a digital showroom with an immersive experience. The brand also added gamification to make the user’s experience more engaging. There were five looks displayed in the virtual showroom, each with a link to the real-world products available on the official website of Boss.

In an official statement, the company said that the metaverse showroom was created with the help of artificial intelligence in order to translate the Miami show’s concept to a digital format.

“Following a line-up of NFT projects, the BOSS immersive showroom is the next step in our exploration of Web3 and the Metaverse, exciting new spaces for fashion brands. We will leverage the opportunities this opens for our brand’s storytelling and see it as an additional sales channel within our future omnichannel strategy. The virtual showroom concept seamlessly complements our Spring/Summer 2023 runway show in Miami and brings us closer to our goal of becoming the leading premium tech-driven fashion platform worldwide,“ said Daniel Grieder, CEO of HUGO BOSS.

Diesel

Diesel partnered with NFT project Hape during the event. The two threw a metaverse party for the visitors. During the event, users could get four wearable NFTs for free. All those who attended the party could claim the NFTs as long as their wallets were connected. To claim, users simply had to walk towards the wearable they would like to claim and double-click on it. Every avatar was allowed to claim one free wearable, and there were no gas fees (transaction charges for blockchain).

The party took place in “D-Cave” - a space created by the brand. The event was promoted on social media channels of Diesel and Hape.

Cristóbal Balenciaga New Code by RLTY

RLTY is a collective of Metaverse early adopters, building the metaverse. They collaborated with Animal Concerts and Art Consulting to create digital wearables inspired from unseen drawings and sketches by fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. They created 10 wearables to be showcased during MVFW.

RLTY explained in an official release that each wearable in the collection is a virtual recreation of designs from The Balenciaga Collection, a collection of 9,000 recently discovered sketches from the Spanish designer, celebrated for his exquisite craftsmanship and revolutionary ideas. Customers, avatars and fashion fans were able to explore the collection in ‘rotating 3D dispensers’, and purchase the limited edition wearables directly from the boutique.

Dundas and DressX

Dundas teamed up with a 3D studio UME and DressX to bring ten looks from the DUNDAS D24 Paris Fashion Week show into the metaverse. Dundas, the label by Norwegian designer Peter Dundas, worked with DressX, a digital fashion store. They introduced the concept of ‘see now, wear now’ during the Dundas fashion show during the Metaverse Fashion Week 2023. With digital twins available for the audience during the show, Dundas and DressX made fashion looks wearable on photos and avatars straight off the runway.

Coach

Coach collaborated with an augmented-reality platform to make a digital retail space. In line with the brand’s “In My Tabby” campaign, the space by Coach consisted of a huge virtual Tabby bag floating mid-air.

When the visitor entered the virtual space, they entered a gamified experience. The goal was to collect Coach Tabby digital wearables.Coach also hosted a pop-up party where there were five artists, who were a part of the brand’s digital campaign, virtually present through their avatars.