It is the year 2045. You're wearing a pair of glasses that share info on the people, places, and things around you as you walk around Manhattan (if it's still above water). You happen to run into a friend. "Fire outfit!" you exclaim, referring to your friend's flaming clothing. And, despite the fact that their Balenciaga couture cloak is on fire, they appear unconcerned. When you take off those goggles, you'll notice that your pal is dressed in nothing more than a T-shirt and trousers.
This is one conceivable picture of the metaverse, the vague new digital frontier that Silicon Valley can't seem to get enough of—and one the fashion world appears to be equally enamoured with. Every fashion label seems to want to (literally) infiltrate the sector, from Balenciaga to the funny upcoming British upstart Stefan Cooke. Furthermore, Silicon Valley has been eager to embrace fashion as a cornerstone of its glitzy new development: much was made of Mark Zuckerberg's avatar changing among outfit options in the metaverse demo video produced by his firm in late October to mark their rebranding as "Meta." All of this has resulted in unusually ardent collaboration between two industries that have struggled to interact in a true way.
But first, what is the metaverse (and don't feel bad if you have to ask)? No one can say for sure because no one knows how things will turn out. "What we're actually talking about is the internet's future," says Cathy Hackl, CEO (and Chief Metaverse Officer) of the consultancy Futures Intelligence Group, dubbed the "godmother of the metaverse" by her peers. She informs me that the previous phase of the internet, Web 1.0, promoted the transportation of information, whereas Web 2.0 connected individuals, resulting in the sharing economy driven by Spotify and Facebook. "We're at the evolution of Web 2.0," Hackl says, "and we're headed into web 3.0," which will connect people, places, and things. And these people, places, and things are But first (and don't feel bad if you have to ask): wassets can be in a fully virtual synthetic environment at times. ” She's quick to point out that the metaverse isn't something that belongs to or lives on a single platform—rather, it's "supported by a variety of technologies." It's not about a single technology or a single firm." While we can experience the metaverse in virtual spaces, which is commonly referred to as "virtual reality," that isn't the only method we'll do so.
So, how has fashion come to play such an important role in whatever that experience turns out to be? After all, Silicon Valley is known for its lack of fashion sense. Mark Zuckerberg was defending his choice to wear the same T-shirt virtually every day long before he was defending Facebook in front of Congress. With attempts to combine technology and fashion, such as wearable devices or smart fabrics, have largely failed, while the luxury business has historically struggled to keep up with the internet, adjusting slowly to e-commerce.
Money is, of course, the most straightforward explanation. The majority of the fashion industry's efforts in the metaverse have so far been through video game skins, a $40 billion a year business. Skins are a reasonably low-cost (and even sustainable!) option for big and small companies to engage the fashion-conscious gaming community and NFT holders eager to spend their currency in innovative and disruptive ways. (In other words, the fashion industry has gone from wanting to manufacture fewer things at the start of the pandemic to trying to figure out a method to make no physical products at all—easy it's to see how that may be enticing.)
However, there are also cultural transformations at work. According to Matthew Ball, a venture entrepreneur who worked with Facebook on the Meta concept film, "While fashion is not Northern California's primary focus," he adds in an email, "it has always concentrated on what [users] want to do online—and over the past decade, that has primarily been to socialise." It's only natural that Silicon Valley concentrates on 3D items, fashion, and other aspects of our 'online lives.'"
The fashion world's metaverse craze, according to Iolo Edwards, creator and moderator of the Facebook community and Instagram page High Fashion Talk, is the outcome of the industry's development into a seller of ideals rather than things. Balenciaga, he claims, is more linked with references and a cultural sensibility in the eyes of its admirers than with the superior quality of its apparel. Consider The Simpsons episode that served as the Spring 2022 show, Demna Gvasalia's listening party projects with Kanye West, and Balenciaga's performance art-meets-red carpet dressing of Kim Kardashian: these are instantly recognisable to Balenciaga fans, as well as those who may not buy the brand's clothing. "It's [via] that intangible aspect of things for most people who consume Balenciaga." And when we leave,It will be that intangible into the metaverse. It won't be possible to touch the meta clothes."
Balenciaga is cited by metaverse experts and fashion peers as the current leading innovator, having partnered with Fortnite earlier this year and worked with Fortnite's parent company Epic Games to create a video game for its Fall 2021 show, but other brands are now announcing similar projects almost weekly. Stefan Cooke, a British designer, revealed in mid-November that his creations would be featured in The Sims. NFTs are being produced by Burberry and Louis Vuitton. A new class of firms, such as RTFKT, which releases virtual shoes and other collector objects, is rising to challenge these more traditional fashion houses, with its founders predicting that their new universe will upset the fashion industry's long-held concept of the lone genius designer. (Yes, you—yes, you—can create and distribute the next one.)Excellent sneaker. RTFKT enables people to make their own things, allowing them to turn digital objects into real ones.)
In fact, these creators are so advanced in their fusion of fashion and technology that they were underwhelmed by Zuckerberg's fashion fantasia, which showed the much-maligned tech titan flipping through a small selection of looks to demonstrate how the metaverse allows users to create—and dress—a digital avatar. "It was quite typical," recalls RTFKT cofounder Benoit Pagotto. He describes the outfit as "hoodies, T-shirts, and a Halloween costume," adding that it was "perfect for the demo." (It appears that Meta already realised this wasn't enough: a few hours after releasing the film, the firm tweeted Balenciaga for metaverse dressing suggestions.) Balenciaga has yet to respond.) Chris Le, a cofounder of Pagotto, was less charitable: "When you're trying to promote the metaverse, why are you showcasing standard-ass crap?"
"I haven't felt this excitement about fashion and technology ever," Hackl says, citing the freedom from "standard-ass junk." Forget about donning a different hoodie—the appeal of the metaverse, according to its adherents, is how an avatar frees a person from physical realities. "It's all about unleashing creativity and challenging boundaries," Hackl explains. (Immolation appears to be a popular dream, according to anecdotal evidence.) Three different persons I spoke with mentioned the risk of being engulfed in flames, either partially or fully.) "It has always been the younger generations that have pushed the boundaries. "How are they expressing themselves in these virtual spaces?" I believe it is part of embracing that rebellion. "Young people will always push physical boundaries," she says, "but they'll also challenge those in the mental realm."See what I can do in the virtual spaces. What can I construct? How can I dress my avatar, or what creator's fashion will I purchase that will allow me to push the boundaries of how I express myself?" Users have started changing their physical clothes and appearances to better reflect their internet avatars, according to RTFKT's cofounders.
The fashion industry is likewise concerned about losing touch with a group of potential customers. Typically, brands ignore clients who are beyond their highly defined comfort zone until they are unable to—unless, in other words, engaging with new potential customers is convenient and profitable. On platforms like Fortnite, where the kinds of boundary-pushing styles Hackl describes are already part of the experience, fashion is an organic presence. A gigantic sock monkey bounced on a pogo stick, a banana wore a tuxedo, and a player costumed as Guns n Roses guitarist Slash, albeit with a sculpted jaw and a thick blonde bob, for example, presented a virtual fashion show in April. Balenciaga merely stepped in to take formal advantage with their September cooperation.members of that fandom
"Any fashion business, any fashion house, needs to start thinking about, what is their meta strategy," Hackl believes. According to Hackl. "In the metaverse, what does the brand become?" What exactly does it mean? If they do not engage the community that already resides in these venues, they will not be able to sell, maintain their heritage status, or remain top of mind."