The first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week: Digital fashion is here to stay

Incredible as it may seem, digital fashion has developed so much that it already needs its own fashion week with all that that implies: from fashion shows and presentations of new collections to public talks and parties with real DJs. The first digital fashion week was held from March 23 to 27 on Decentraland, a decentralized virtual social platform on the Ethereum blockchain.

Previously, Jonathan Simkhai presented his collection in Second Life just before New York Fashion Week. After the show, evening gown skins could be purchased from NFTs to dress up user avatars in Second Life.

Decentraland also held the first full fashion week in history, lasting five days. On the first day, Selfridges opened a store where NFT was presented from the actual exhibition currently taking place in London, the future of Victor Vasarely's work and the influence it had on his contemporary Paco Rabbane called UNIVERSE. Players can purchase NFT dresses as well as artwork from the Fondation Vasarely.

The second day

During the second day of Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW), there were many panel discussions, modeling workshops, interviews, the opening of the UNXD Luxury District, and mini-games. After all, we are in the gaming space. And perhaps the most significant parts were two shows by Dolce & Gabbana and Philip Plein, as this is why gamers and fashionistas alike paid attention to MVFW.

Related: NFT Adoption: Tokens Take the Runway at Metaverse Fashion Week

Decentraland's graphics immediately prompted questions from many Instagram users who commented on the brands' posts about MVFW. Decentraland was released in beta in 2017 and many creators questioned the quality of the graphics, working with what they had. Due to the quality, the shows looked ridiculous, forcing brands to post only the images of purchasable in-game skins. For example, Dolce & Gabbana chose cats with glasses and hairstyles as their digital models. His show was held in a virtual room with a circular podium and flowers.

Each cat had its own style and the collection echoed the true spectacle of the brand, both in the scenery and in the skins presented. This season, D&G fans will indulge in Metaverse logomania and dress in animal print, puffer jackets, voluminous shoulders and sunglasses, beaming with happiness.

Philipp Plein held his Show with a huge skull, highlighting the symbol of the brand. Her skull cracked open and her tongue unrolled to introduce the models walking in the show. Fans of Philip Plein in this metaverse season are expected to wear glow-in-the-dark goggles or respirator masks, cat-eared helmets, down jackets, wings, and bathrobes.

On the brand's website, the prices of the skins that were sold out right off the track it started at $1,500 for Moon $urfer and went up to $15,000 for Platinum $urfer. These masks come with a special treat: a little skeleton sitting on the shoulder, probably to justify the cost.

After the show, everyone was invited to go to a party where Plein streamed from his home to join the party, bragging on his Instagram stories that his clothes were featured in the Metaverse for the first time. The designer wore his brand's custom skin: a helmet with cat ears. It's clear that fashion in the Metaverse loves cats.

Additionally, many brands opened digital boutiques in the Metaverse. In the luxury district, shoppers can find Dolce & Gabbana and Philip Plein, but also the luxury watch boutique Jacob & Co and a store with Hèrmes Birkin bags. Is there any other way that allows you to emphasize your status in the Metaverse, besides a Birkin and a watch?

Related: NFT Fashion Hits The Runway As Designers Drop Into Metaverse

Jacob and company thrown out “Metaverse Astronomy,” a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that includes eight clocks, one clock for a planet in the Solar System. “The clocks of the five planets closest to the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter) have been produced as unique physical clocks (including a clock NFT), while the three most distant planets (Saturn, Uranus , Neptune) have split into multiple digital-only variants.”

The third day

On the third day, there was an Etro fashion show and a presentation of the Dress X collection. The Etro show was the biggest flop of the entire MVFW, as the styling of average avatars in mediocre clothing with Buta brand designs was enough for a digital collection in the Metaverse. The show was held in the same venue as Dolce & Gabbana, but with less special effects and not enough glitz and flair.

The behavior of the audience was far from perfect: many users simply ran near the stage, spoiling the show. It was clear that the organizers had no technical restrictions to avoid this, or it was not expected. The fans did not like the spectacle and they destroyed the presentation of the collection.

The fifth day

On the last day, there was a presentation by Estée Lauder, the first cosmetics brand to perform brilliantly in the Metaverse. They introduced a product that gave the Avatars a veil of gold glitter, which looked amazing. As a smart branding move by Estée Lauder, it gave away gold glitter for free – users were happy and their avatars glowed.

There was also a parade of the Dundas brand with dresses with bows and glitter coming out of their avatars. In fact, there was nothing especially noteworthy: He repeated the physical collection, playing with the concept of dressing oneself. Now, users can dress up their avatars. The models they used were more humanized and less clumsy.

The final chord was the Auroboros x Grimes Immersive Experience party with a performance by Grimes. It was clear to everyone that she moved much better than the standard Avatars and even better than the models on the catwalk in this metaverse. He wore a suit with snake scales and had long braids. It seemed like Grimes had been living in the Metaverse for a long time, he just adapted.

After five days of watching MVFW, it's great to see so many brands taking part in the new page of fashion industry history, even if they couldn't predict the outcome of this experiment. The shows did not go as the brands expected, as their social media posts made clear. This is because the brands posted the best photos from the show and not the reality of pixelated avatars and plain looks.

Perhaps the graphics were created specifically to make viewers feel nostalgic, only to surprise us with amazing results and an evolution of what the future of MVFW will look like, even with realistic impressions of the garments and the models wearing them.

We can only hope that the next fashion week is more technologically advanced and that Balenciaga joins the list as it seems to be the pioneer of digital fashion in the world of luxury.

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