Hosted by Decentraland, the lineup includes luxury houses Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab, Guo Pei, and Dundas.
It’s 2022, and a budding fashion capital is outside New York, Paris, Milan, and London. In fact, it’s not in the physical world either.
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Hosted by Decentraland, the Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) will run from March 24 to 27. The purely digital series of fashion shows has a roster of global brands such as Selfridges, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab, Guo Pei, Etro, and Cavalli.
According to Decentraland Foundation’s creative director Sam Hamilton, although the event will be the first of its kind, “fashion and haute couture are not new to the metaverse.”
Launched in 2020, Decentraland is a “3D virtual world browser-based platform.” It’s another network in the metaverse like Meta (formerly known as Facebook), Somnium Space, and Sandbox.
Virtual closet
Since its launch, the company has offered avatar wearables, all of which are NFTs and sold in their own marketplaces. “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.”
The shows will be held at the metaverse platform’s Luxury Fashion District. Their other areas include spaces for varying interests like the Crypto Valley, Museum District, Music Hub, and Design Quarter.
London luxury retailer Selfridges will showcase first and open its flagship metaverse store to kick off the four-day fashion week. At the same time, a shopping area modeled after Paris’ Avenue Montaigne will be available to sell digital and physical items.
Metaverse afterparties
Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, head of Metaverse Fashion Week, tells Vogue Business that instead of replicating existing physical designs, brands will offer brand new collections or interpretations of released pieces.
“The point of the metaverse is to dream and do these fantastical looks that you can’t wear in real life,” Dundas founder Evangelo Bousis told the publication. Bousis designed Mary J. Blige’s recent super bowl ensemble and partnered with digital fashion company DressX to make NFT versions of it.
Beyond the shows, fashion weeks are also known for their afterparties. And its digital version has plenty, from Dolce & Gabbana hosting on opening night to KnownOrigin live streaming Dj sets on March 25. According to Decentraland, the complete list of parties will be announced early next month.
Banner photo from @dundasworld on Instagram.
