Fashion week is headed to the metaverse.
From Thursday, March 24 through Sunday, March 27, Decentraland will host the debut Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW). According to its launch announcement last month, the decentralized virtual social metaverse platform will host four days of runway shows, fashion experiences, pop-up shops, and after parties, featuring some of the most renowned names in the global fashion world.
“Fashion and haute couture are not new to the metaverse,” said Decentraland Foundation’s creative director Sam Hamilton in a statement. “Decentraland has been on the cutting edge of rare and in-demand digital fashion since the launch of avatar wearables in 2020. Since that time, creators have been pushing both the technical and stylistic limits of Decentraland wearables, and have created a booming economy with over $1 million in sales of avatar wearables last year.”
For the event, MVFW will take place in Decentraland’s newest district, the “Luxury Fashion District,” presented by NFT marketplace UNXD and Vogue Arabia.
To kick off the week, on Wednesday, March 23, London retailer Selfridges will celebrate the opening of its flagship metaverse store. The launch will feature an immersive experience with Paco Rabanne and Victor Vasarely.
At the center of MVFW is a futuristic runway that will hosting daily shows by fashion houses like Dolce & Gabbana, Dundas, and Etro, as well as digital fashion brands like The Fabricant, and new designers making their digital wearables debut at MVFW like Kid Super and NFT superstar Fewocious. Collaborations between Nicholas Kirkwood and blue chip NFT collectable White Rabbit and Hype x Vogu and Sophia the Robot will also offer a glimpse into the future of A.I. fashion.
The runway is surrounded by a luxury shopping area inspired by the architecture at Avenue Montaigne in Paris. It houses metaverse shopping experiences by Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab, Etro, Dundas, Jacob & Co., Franck Muller, Garrett Leight, Cavalli, Faith Connexion, Faith Tribe, Nicholas Kirkwood in collaboration with White Rabbit NFT, Merts Otsamo in collaboration with DressX, Monnier + Republiqe and Chufy.
Here FN rounds up all the of MVFW’s must-see shows and activations.
Tommy Hilfiger will open a virtual shop during MVFW
Tommy Hilfiger will virtually showcase its spring 2022 collections at MVFW, plus host a virtual shop where consumers can shop NFTs and wearables for their avatars or purchase physical items from within the metaverse. This virtual shopping experience will be brought to life in partnership with Web3 commerce tech company Boson Protocol.
At MVFW, consumers can teleport their avatar to Tommy Hilfiger’s virtual store and shop a select range of limited-edition products from the spring 2022 collection. Visitors will encounter floating 3D renders of signature styles, including a varsity jacket for men, a madras shirt for women, and a unisex hoodie featuring the Tommy Hilfiger logo. The items can be purchased as NFTs, which are redeemable for physical products delivered straight to the customers’ door.
“When I founded my namesake brand in 1985, I never imagined I’d see a time when fashion weeks would be held in a 3D, fully virtual world,” said Tommy Hilfiger in a statement. “As we further explore the metaverse and all it has to offer, I’m inspired by the power of digital technology and the opportunities it presents to engage with communities in fascinating, relevant ways.”
Giuseppe Zanotti will launch wearables of its Cobras sneakers
As part of MVFW, Italian luxury footwear designer Giuseppe Zanotti will enter the blockchain ecosystem in partnership with bluechip NFT community, DeadFellaz, and Neuno marketplace.
This collaboration will offer 1,000 limited digital-only designs of Giuseppe Zanotti’s Cobras sneakers that will allow avatars to wear these limited-edition sneakers.
“Cobras sneakers were my immediate thought when I had the opportunity to be part of such an innovative project,” said founder and creative director Giuseppe Zanotti in a statement. “Our brand-new sneaker style with a visionary aesthetic recently launched in partnership with American hip hop artist Young Thug. The 3D snake that wraps around the shoe’s body symbolizes power and transformation – embodying the spirit of this collaboration.”
“We connected immediately to the Cobras sneaker design as it is highly represented throughout our art and brand ethos, visually inspired by textures and color,” added Bett, co-founder of DeadFellaz. “We’re thrilled to see Giuseppe’s tremendous effort to transform and adapt fashion in the digital era.”
Perry Ellis America will be the first brand to present during the week
Perry Ellis America will kick off the live runway shows with its presentation on Thursday, March 24 at 10 am on Decentraland. The wearables that will be on display have been developed to look like real clothes and will feature items from the brand’s spring/summer ‘22 collection.
A selection of the digital wearables, as well as corresponding physical product, will be available for consumers to shop straight off the runway at a digital marketplace. Only a limited amount of the digital wearables will be minted and available for consumers to snag as skins used to dress their Decentraland avatars. Wearables will be available to view in the digital store and will be offered for free to users on a first come, first serve basis. The corresponding physical items – including outerwear, polos, knits, and denim will be available to purchase on Perryellis.com.
Charles & Keith is rolling out several activations for MVFW
Charles & Keith’s main focus for MVFW is a booth within the luxury marketplace area.
Decked out in the brand’s spring floral print, the booth will display items from the its spring 2022 collection like the candy-colored Koa shoulder bag and tie-up Alex sandals. Avatars can explore the pop-up to view the spring 2022 campaign video and try on digital wearables akin to a physical store experience. Guests also have the option to click through to Charleskeith.com to purchase physical products of what their avatars are wearing.
The first 1,000 avatars to visit the booth will receive complimentary Koa bag and Alex sandals wearables for their avatars. Back in the real world, twenty exclusive micro Koa bags are also up for grabs. Guests simply have to take a screenshot of their avatar at the Charles & Keith booth and post it on Instagram or Twitter to stand a chance to win the limited-edition accessory.
The brand has also launched cryptocurrency as a payment mode on its e-commerce site – the first Singapore fashion label to do so. Customers with existing wallets simply have to scan a QR code at checkout to make payment with their cryptocurrency. Accepted coins include popular digital currencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether USDT.
Hype teams up with Vogu on 31-piece collection
UK-based brand Hype has teamed up with NFT creators Vogu on a 31-piece unisex collection for MVFW. The collection will debut as part of the event’s runway shows.
Inspired by elements of sci-fi and hypothetical iterations of the world wide web, the collection combines digital, glitch-effect, enlarged, repeated, and all-over-printed graphics with the emphasis of highlighting and expressing the juxtaposition between reality and the digital world.
The collection includes hoodies and t-shirts that will be available in the metaverse as well as in real life on justhype.com and Hype’s London store.
