Is The Metaverse The New Fashion Frontier?
Reality, but make it virtual.
With the advent of the pandemic, many individuals found themselves stuck inside with their families, pets or just themselves. This increase in homebodies has led to a longing for escapism amongst large swaths of society. Technology such as augmented reality and virtual reality provided a means to escape the house without leaving the house. Within the industry companies began putting on virtual shows and experimenting with 3D and digital fashion. Events such as these and the rise of the metaverse, position the industry at a point to reinvent how fashion is presented and even made going into a new decade.
Why the metaverse?
Metaverse technology has found itself in the news a lot recently, from Nike announcing its new NIKELAND space in Roblox to Facebook (now Meta) announcing heavy investment into their own VR space. This new arena for interaction has seen a whirlwind of attention, but the basic building blocks for this new tech has been around for a while. Games such as Minecraft and Animal Crossing remain hugely popular due to them transporting users to their own realm, full customizable to themselves and friends. Meetups in these spaces have led to the birth of new online culture and communities. This partnered with the rise in public interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has made digital creations a hot commodity. It is predicable that these spaces would grow past gaming as VR/AR tech has become more widespread and applicable to industries outside of gaming.
What does this mean for the industry?
In addition to traditional methods of interacting with a fashion brand, customers may now seek virtual reality components. This may include releasing product drops in the metaverse and featuring promotions across popular spaces. Nike has already made its move into releasing actually metaverse content, acquiring RTFTK, a company formed in 2020 that focuses on producing NFT accessories for use in the metaverse. Moves like this by an industry leader only work to solidify the future use of digital spaces and the metaverse to showcase fashion and interact with users.