Here’s what we saw at the first Metaverse Fashion Week

Decentraland’s first Metaverse Fashion Week took place from March 23-27, and the reality is that it disappointed much of the fashion critical sphere. We take a look back at what happened at the digital event.

Today’s eternal obsession with virtualizing everything has permeated the fashion system. Awake was joined by a list of brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab, Etro, Tommy Hilfiger, Hogan and Gucci, who digitized their collections to display them in fashion shows in 3.0 format. In the same space, other brands presented pop-up stores where NFTs could be purchased or organized exclusive events aimed at their network.

Well, the general feedback of this series of rendered fashion shows has been called into question for its low-quality visual effects; for not doing justice to the reality of the matter. Sartorial proposals are not yet ready to achieve the expected digital hyperrealism, as it is incompatible, for now, to reproduce fabrics and volumes of their physical analogs.

IMAGINARY REALITIES

Even so, many of the firms that presented their collections at MFW, left aside this utopian realism, advocating for animation. As was the case of D&G, opting for eccentric avatars and animals for their fashion show.

That ideation of parallel worlds with cartoonish aesthetics was a concept also followed by Gucci in its 10KTF Gucci Grail collaboration with digital artisan Wagmi-san, presenting a collection of 5,000 custom PFP looks inspired by the Gucci Aria and Love Parade collections; “ushering in a new form of self-expression through dimensions.”

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Whether we like it or not, the virtual world is becoming a very important channel to connect with new generations of customers who spend much of their time in virtual spaces and games in which they now define their digital identities. That is why brands are moving into the Metaverse, and are willing to experiment with Web 3.0, amplifying their own narrative to reach these new audiences.