When a virtual Gucci Dionysus handbag went on sale online last year for a value of $4,115, it wasn’t just the price tag that grabbed attention. It was the fact that he could buy the real thing for $700 less.
The four-figure sum paid by users of gaming platform Roblox was relatively pennies for the label, which generated $9.7 billion in revenue in 2021. (equivalent to under $6), an astronomical price later achieved on the resale market.
But what became clear in this moment is that some people value their digital wardrobe as much, if not more, than their physical wardrobe.
Whether these platforms are part of the so-called “Metaverse” (a term that came to the spotlight when Facebook rebranded as Meta last year) or are simply online games, millions of People are spending time in immersive, interconnected digital environments. As such, major labels are launching virtual events, exclusive drops, and shops with collections of Avatar clothing.
“Fashion brands have been particularly slow to respond to social media. ‘They don’t want to be late again.'”
“There are 3.2 billion people playing games today, but they are not just entering virtual worlds to play games. There is,” he added, comparing the fashion industry’s recent efforts to what it is trying to do. To “fit in with the R&B and hip-hop culture” of the 1990s. “Connecting with this audience is very important if a brand wants to be culturally relevant.”
experience matters
Margins are definitely attractive. For example, the cost of creating a free, infinitely replicable virtual sneaker is significantly lower than manufacturing and distributing thousands of physical equivalents.
Last year, Balenciaga debuted a selection of player “skins” and digital accessories for the online game Fortnite. credit: epic games
But perhaps more importantly, the metaverse will give brands access to a whole new generation of customers. The customer base was often younger than traditional luxury shoppers and may not have been associated with high fashion. In fact, what’s remarkable about Gucci’s Roblox experience, his Gucci Garden, isn’t necessarily the headline-grabbing handbag sales, but the fact that the virtual space has attracted a staggering 20 million users. .
However, according to Hambro, successful brands will not be those that treat the virtual world as an advertising space or money maker, but those that create fun and meaningful experiences for their users.
“Facebook makes money from brands, Instagram makes money from brands, but Roblox makes money from players,” he said. “So when brands enter these virtual spaces, they need to enrich the experience because it’s a completely different model. It’s not about putting your logo in front of your eyeballs and putting them in front of your eyeballs, they’re scrolling through their feeds.Brands need to make real connections with these audiences.”
Burberry’s Digital Lola bags sold on Roblox for the equivalent of $9.99 each. credit: burberry/roblox
“This is the exact opposite of what we see with NFTs, which has a lot to do with the rarity of the NFT itself,” said Hambro, who believes the item’s value comes from “the aesthetics of the product itself.”
“These individuals were buying these products not just to own and flip, but for self-expression.”
digital identity
British stylist Gemma Shepherd, often referred to as “the first stylist of the metaverse,” says that self-expression and creativity are at the heart of digital dressing, just like fashion in the real world.
“Two years ago, my granddaughter asked for shoes for Avatar,” recalls Shepard, former director of luxury jewelry brand Boucheron, who was later appointed global fashion director of the Metaverse at game development studio Duvitt. . “The shoes were worth £60 ($70) at the time, and her mother said, ‘No way, they’re more expensive than the shoes you’re wearing on your feet.’ , I started talking to her and realized it was really important to her that her avatar had these sparkly shoes.
“I had this massive perception,” she added. “This is how Gen Z behaves. This is where they are. This is their communication. Their identity in the metaverse really matters. .”
“All my concepts are based on how I work in the real world with traditional mood boards, but I let my imagination run wild,” she says. He mentioned his new collection. The bag doesn’t have to work that way on Roblox, it works in the real world.”
Italian label Etro hosted a digital runway show at Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week in March. credit: Vittorio Zunino Cerotto/Getty Images
Conversely, Sheppard said virtual worlds could offer brands the opportunity to road test their real designs before they go into production. However, she added, it would be a mistake to assume that people would wear the same clothes in virtual life as they do in real life.
“That’s the beauty of the Metaverse,” she added. “I live in Ibiza and they say you can’t strip your clothes. You can wear a Swarovski gown and come right off the beach in a bikini and that’s perfectly fine To some extent, it applies to the metaverse.”
Future question
The future of the immersive digital world remains a matter of speculation, as much as new technological changes.
Some observers even question whether the Metaverse, or at least the Mark Zuckerberg-pedaled version of Metaboss, will ever come to fruition. According to talent analytics firm Revelio Labs, there was an 81% drop in new job postings with the word “metaverse” in the title between April and June of this year. (To treat this as an industry death warning would be like writing off the Internet based on the 1990s “dotcom bubble.”)
Ralph Lauren has launched a digital apparel line on South Korean platform Zepeto. credit: ralph lauren
A more pressing question is whether we will one day be able to access digital wardrobes in different virtual worlds (e.g. items purchased in Fortnite or Decentraland can only be used on those specific platforms). ). Dubit’s chief of commercials his officer, Andrew Douthwaite, said that despite users’ apparent interest in owning his closet for a cohesive, cross-platform meta, this poses a major technical challenge. said to bring
“’Interoperability’ has been a buzzword in the metaverse for the past year or so. “I think it’s definitely something to strive for,” he added.
Other potential opportunities exist where the digital and physical worlds collide, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Virtual “try-on” technology has made great strides in recent years. For example, shoppers can now see what clothes look like without having to walk into a store or mail unwanted clothes. Future applications will also rely on the development of “mixed reality” smart devices such as his glasses, Hambro said.
“What’s really exciting about this is getting into the speculation and guesswork about when the hardware will be good enough, but through the glasses you’re wearing right now, you can’t see me wearing my original different clothes.” You can see it. It’s an NFT that I own,” he said.
It’s probably this future that the fashion industry is betting millions of dollars on.
Source: www.cnn.com
