The fashion industry is rapidly evolving in the metaverse and Web3 spaces, as fashion houses, designers, and brands experiment with new technologies, ecosystems, and economic models.
In just a few weeks, Decentraland Metaverse Fashion Week 2023 will commence, and after the success of its first edition, it aims to create the first cross-platform fashion experience with Spatial and OVER metaverse platforms as well as bring more emerging designers into the spotlight, creating a democratic space for fashion in the virtual world.
As MVFW23 approaches, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of Web3 fashion innovators to keep an eye on.
How Web3 transforms fashion
Web3 fashion is a movement that combines fashion and blockchain technology. It involves creating digital fashion items such as clothing, accessories, and wearables that are tokenized on the blockchain, making them unique and verifiable. This allows for the creation of a new market for virtual fashion, where users can buy, sell, and trade digital fashion items like they would physical ones.
In 2018, digital fashion studio The Fabricant created the world’s first blockchain-based dress. The dress was sold for $9,500 in an auction, setting a precedent for the use of blockchain technology in the fashion industry.
Since then, the idea of Web3 fashion has been rapidly expanding, and numerous startups and designers began experimenting with creating and selling tokenized virtual fashion items. In 2020, the digital fashion marketplace DRESSX was launched, allowing users to buy and wear digital fashion. Other companies, such as LUKSO, are creating blockchain-based solutions for verifying and tracking physical fashion items, which help address issues of counterfeiting and supply chain transparency in the fashion industry.
The interplay of blockchain and fashion has created numerous opportunities for the industry. Coupled with metaverse experiences, Web3 fashion is driving a big change.
The Web3 fashion ecosystem
Many established and emerging brands, designers, experts, communities, service providers, and startups are shaping the future of fashion. Many of these emerged as digital-first fashion houses, transitioned to digital fashion along the way, or are helping aspiring designers break through. The ecosystem is growing every day, and this is by no means an exhaustive list.
Let us know if any other Web3 fashion innovators who should be included on this list.
DESIGNERS & FASHION HOUSES:
- The Fabricant is a digital fashion house leading the fashion industry towards a new sector of digital-only clothing. They pioneered creating digital clothing and virtual fashion experiences through high-profile collaborations with major brands and celebrities, and have gained attention for their innovative and sustainable approach to fashion.
- Auroboros is a metaverse-native luxury fashion house presenting physical and digital couture and ready-to-wear, reflective of the scientific and technological advances of the 21st century.
- Tribute Brand is a digital fashion brand which consumers can buy and paste onto themselves. Led by Gala Marija Vrbanic, Tribute Brand collective launched as the first D2C digital fashion brand.
- RTFKT creates unique experiences with phygital fashion, sneakers, and digital artifacts. They are known for their viral sneaker designs, collectible exclusives, 3D & AR wearables, and original art.
- Robert Kalinkin, the founder of The Rebels by House of Kalinkin, is transitioning his fashion brand into the Web3 realm. Their objective is to become the first Web3 fashion label to fully transform into a blockchain brand.
- Alterrage, founded by a Web3 fashion pioneer and phygital fashion consultant Lauren Kacher, is the first DAO-led fashion label to leverage blockchain technology to create interoperable collections across physical, augmented, and digital spaces with a mission to use technology to inspire real world activism.
- Adriana Krawcewicz is a British-Polish fashion NFT artist who is considered a pioneer among the fashion and art world. Adriana’s exhibition ‘Now Fashion Time’ at the Station of Art Gallery was the first in-person NFT exhibition on fashion illustration.
- Assaf Reeb is a designer and entrepreneur who has been working at the cutting edge of digital fashion and virtual self-expression since 2017. He has collaborated with Web3-native companies like LUKSO and the Desperate ApeWives to create compelling digital experiences in mediums such as AR, phygital assets, and NFT skins.
- Metagolden, founded by Francine Ballard, is the original blockchain jewelry brand. Founded in 2021, the debut collection was inspired by blockchain code. All pieces are accompanied by original digital artwork and verified via NFT.
- Republiqe, founded by James Gaubert, is a digital fashion house working with brands to help them transport into the metaverse through digital fashion design, NFTs, avatar design, and more.
- Space Runners is the first digital fashion brand for the metaverse, aiming to establish the first complete fashion ecosystem on the blockchain. With a substantial following of over 500,000 individuals, Space Runners has grown into one of the most prominent fashion brands in the blockchain-based metaverse.
- Fabeeo Breen is a Metaverse fashion brand exploring the intersection of fashion, design, and technology in virtual worlds. Brand’s vision is to create a new landscape of fashion that is open, inclusive, and ever-evolving.
- Nikki Fuego is a drag queen wearable creator. She creates futuristic and fashion-forward designs ranging from fantasy to practical functions.
- LUCII is a digital artist whose primary focus is on creating engaging digital assets with an emphasis on digital fashion.
- Diverge is a metaverse fashion brand and ecosystem that creates high-end wearables for virtual realities.
COMMUNITIES:
- The Immersive Kind. Founded by Kadine James, The Immersive Kind is a multi-faceted art and advanced technology collective that amalgamates as an extended reality creative studio, a 24/7 global online community, and open digital fashion and immersive arts platform.
- The Fashion DAO™. Established by Nico Fara, The Fashion DAO™ is the consortium of Web3 fashion experts, looking to support responsible adoption of Web3 technology in the industry and facilitate collaboration and co-creation among the community.
- TIALS.World serves as a platform for creatives to gain knowledge, build connections, showcase their ideas, and launch their fashion projects. Stephanie Srikandi, a well-known fashion entrepreneur in both Web2 and Web3 spaces, created TIALS.World to promote sustainability and foster a collaborative community for sustainable fashion entrepreneurs, designers, creatives, and anyone interested in the future of the fashion industry in Web3.
- Metaverse Fashion Council is a DAO that aims to create a more inclusive and sustainable fashion industry in the metaverse, by promoting creativity, innovation, and ethical practices. The Metaverse Fashion Council offers a platform for designers, artists, and other creators to showcase their work in the metaverse and collaborate with others in the industry.
- Institute of Digital Fashion is a platform and a think tank that provides world-class immersive digital solutions, strategies, and innovations in the metaverse, pushing for a more inclusive, sustainable, and diverse IRL x URL reality. Their partnerships and activations aim to reshape the way we experience, touch and consume fashion.
- House of Web3 is the first retail platform fractionally owned by its community of artists, innovators, and creators. HW3 offers custom collaborations that combine digital assets and collectibles with physical art, jewelry, and apparel. The platform represents the confluence of the digital and physical world in fashion and art allowing their members to earn increased access and share of profits through participation.
- Mutani is an inclusive digital fashion community that facilitates collaboration between the most innovative fashion designers and digital creators of today. Their network aims to produce digital fashion that inspires individuals to explore uninhibited forms of self-expression within the gaming and the metaverse. The game-ready assets they create are available on specialized blockchain platforms, with the profits being distributed fairly among contributors.
MARKETPLACES, AGENCIES & ENABLERS
- Metaverse Group, an affiliated company of Tokens.com, is a leading virtual real estate company that facilitates the acquisition of virtual property and provides marketing services to help brands navigate the metaverse space. Metaverse Group is the landowner of the Decentraland’s Fashion District, Mateverse Fashion Week’s spotlight location.
- UNXD is a curated marketplace that brings iconic luxury and culture to the metaverse. UNXD works with the world’s leading luxury brands to create their products in a crypto-native way. Their historic debut collection, Dolce&Gabbana’s Collezione Genesi, generated 1885.719 ETH and is regarded as one of the catalysts of the luxury fashion NFT movement. UNXD is also one of the main partners of MVFW23.
- Phygicode is a consortium of industry leaders involved in various aspects of Metaverse development, transitioning brands, products, and experiences to a dual identity where physical and digital values coexist and enhance each other.
- DRESSX is the largest digital fashion store that carries 3D clothing collections from contemporary brands born in the physical world and in the digital space. They are well-known for their innovative approach to e-commerce (“Don’t shop less, shop digital fashion”), and for their use of 3D modeling technology to create virtual fashion items that can be worn in virtual spaces.
- The Dematerialised is the first authenticated virtual goods marketplace, generating new visceral experiences and revenue streams for fashion creators and consumers.
- Another-1 (AN1) is a platform to build, trade and showcase hype fashion goods. The AN1 marketplace features exclusive collectibles and early-bird access to drops.
- Vysical is an idea accelerator helping early-stage companies grow with an unparalleled network and access to the latest marketing and media models of trade and technology. It was founded by Rebekah Keida, who previously worked with Messi, NAS, and turned Mary J Blige’s SuperBowl outfit into an NFT wearable with Dundas, DRESSX, and crypto.com.
- Pebble Ventures is a metaverse consultancy for leading lifestyle brands. The firm helps fashion, beauty, and consumer brands capitalize on the intersection of virtual and real-world economies. Their founder, Michael DeNunzio, also hosts the Metaverse Matters podcast that features discussions, insights, and ideas for brands that want to enter the metaverse.
- WEAR is the next-generation luxury Web3 platform, bridging the gap between physical luxury goods and digital collectibles. Founded by Nick Lau in 2021, WEAR already has an impressive roster of partners like A.Society, Lousy, Pacific Cigars, Christian Develter, Vogue Hong Kong, Clé de Peau Beauté, Krista Kim and 0.xyz.
- HollyWoodLabs.io specializes in creating Web3 strategies for luxury fashion brands. The company’s founder, Holly Wood, has worked with notable brands like LVMH, Dior, and BMW, and is now deeply involved in the Web3 ecosystem.
- Shillr.xyz is a growth agency that focuses on Web3 growth strategy and community development. The company has collaborated with clients such as Niels Juul, POAP, Genie.xyz, and Spottie Wifi, and has facilitated pre-launch expansion for NFT collections like Alien Frens and Dour Darcels.
- PhygitalTwin is a sustainable design studio and e-commerce marketplace founded by Louise Laing, the fashion entrepreneur. PhygitalTwin aims to democratize fashion by removing the traditional costs of starting a fashion line. They do it by using Web3 technologies to create and transform digital fashion into physical fashion on-demand.
- Kindkind is phygital and textile agency that aims to reshape the fashion industry and the relationship with the things we wear – to make them fair and sustainable. They aim to reduce overconsumption and add value by encouraging deeper connections between garments, their creators, and their wearers.
- ORTHO is a fashion-oriented metaverse platform that promotes genuine authenticity backed by secured ownership.
- XR Couture is a leading digital wearables platform that creates hyper-realistic 3D digital wearables which can be worn on avatars across multiple metaverse platforms and online games.
- Brand New Vision (BNV) is the platform that provides 3D product creation, tokenization, community building, and interoperable wearability for fashion brands.
- Seamm digitizes fashion items so that consumers can collect, buy, sell, and wear them in virtual worlds and video games.
- Polygonal Mind is a creative development studio that imagines, designs, and develops stunning environments, avatars, games, and experiences for the metaverse.
- KOLLECTIFF is a Web3 venture studio that has designed and executed some of the most successful metaverse campaigns for clients such as Acura (Honda), Patron Tequila (Bacardi), and MVFW (The Metaloop).
- Artisant is building a creative platform for fashion designers, Web3 artists, traditional brands and NFT collectors to create, hold and trade digital fashion NFT artworks. They focus on NFT wearables that can be used in the metaverse.
What’s next: Metaverse Fashion Week 2023
On March 28th, 2023, the next highly-anticipated virtual fashion event, Metaverse Fashion Week (#MVFW23), will take place in Decentraland, the first fully decentralized metaverse platform that is built, governed, and owned by its users and creators. This event will feature some of the most innovative and influential players in the Web3 fashion community, and is expected to attract thousands of digital fashion enthusiasts, independent and emerging designers, luxury brands, and innovators.
The theme for Metaverse Fashion Week is “Future Heritage,” which challenges the next generation of creators and traditional fashion designers to showcase the potential of fashion to connect different realities and worlds.
