Mainstream brands and digital upstarts came together to bring us the most high-profile fashion event in the Metaverse.
Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) took the fashion industry to unprecedented heights, garnering far more attention than any other digital fashion event. The timing of MVFW was perfect, having arrived at a time when the Metaverse and NFTs have cemented their position in the virtual world.
The four-day event, which ran from March 24 to 27, saw high-caliber fashion brands, startups, and fans coming together to watch digital clothing worn as NFTs strutting down Decentraland’s blockchain-based platform’s virtual catwalk. Decentraland’s MVFW received mixed reviews, but according to brands and Metaverse consultants, it passed the excitement and eyeball levels with flying colors.
“It is just the beginning. We need to take one step at a time”
Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, MVFW’s head.
Casimiro is confident that MVFW’s quality will improve and display results expected by the entire fashion community as computers and browsers become even more powerful. She says the brands that participated in the event were happy with the result, and organizers are already back to the drawing board to see how they can apply lessons learned from this first salvo to next year’s MVFW.
Some of the brands that joined the fashion-focused events that ended last Sunday included Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Dundas, and Estée Lauder. The events took place on land sold as NFTs, and the outfits on display were digital fashion bought and worn as NFTs, too.
The Misses
High-end brands Gucci and Ralph Lauren were noticeably absent from MVFW. Perhaps they share the same sentiments as those working on digital fashion for years who felt it was too soon to broadcast such a vast and ambitious project on a blockchain-based platform.
“The user experience might need to improve just a tad to facilitate mass adoption,” Anne-Christine Polet, who heads PVH Corp’s 3D design capabilities, wrote on LinkedIn.
And in an Ironic twist, Kerry Murphy, co-founder of digital fashion house The Fabricant that participated in MVFW, said, “The future looks like the past.” The brand created the first NFT dress ever sold. However, he did add that while MVFW’s user experience spewed off ‘90s vibes, development is swiftly gearing up for a better experience next year.
Decentraland’s restrictive 3D design capabilities could be a factor in the rudimentary graphics that fashion-tech experts found underwhelming.
“Someone always has to be first, and by going first, you don’t always get it right,” said Max Vedel, co-founder and creative director at Swipe Back, a Metaverse creative agency that previously worked with Gucci, Nike, and Swarovski.
“That shouldn’t be seen as a negative. [MVFW] is the first foray for a lot of big names into the Metaverse, and while they didn’t always get it right, there were some pretty amazing shows on display,” he continued.
The Hits
Be that as it may, Decentraland reports that there were 108,000 unique attendees during the four-day MVFW. At the time of writing, participating brands haven’t yet disclosed the total number of digital fashion purchases.
Also, the overall mood of MVFW was fun and joyful. Cats strutted down Dolce & Gabbana’s virtual catwalk in place of live models. Models were flying out of blooming lotuses. There was even a dance-off during Hogan’s after-party, where attendees could customize their avatars’ dance moves.
“You don’t just want to recreate real life in the Metaverse; you want to be pushing boundaries and going really crazy with your designs, show spectacles, and the actual experience,” Vedel says.
And that’s precisely what Decentraland’s MVFW accomplished—an out-of-the-box event that pushed boundaries for show.
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