The online metaverse is here and it’s coming.
“When I started talking about it, my friends were like, “What are you talking about?” said 27-year-old Daniella Loftus. “But my 14 year-old cousins understood it instantly.”
Many people find the idea of purchasing clothes that don’t exist a bit too radical. Emerging digital fashion stores are tapping into an expanding market, but not actual clothes, but digitally created outfits. These stores simply photoshop onto customers’ photos or videos for posting onto Instagram and other social media. They will soon be a way to dress up your avatar while you interact in online games or meeting places.
Loftus, a British influencer, sees so much potential in her career that she quit her job at a fashion consulting company to dedicate herself fully to her website This Outfit Doesn’t Exist.
Her Instagram showcases the possibilities of virtual clothing that doesn’t have to follow the laws of physics. She has a shimmering silver suit with tentacles and a wibbling pink creation with lasers shooting out of her bustier.
Digital is gaining ground on physical. Children are asking one another: “What skin were you wearing in this game yesterday?” Loftus agreed.
Eye-catching
Isabelle Boemeke is a Brazilian model and influencer who is an avid buyer for digital outfits. She is also known online as Isodope. Her high fashion style blends with serious environmental activism and clean energy. Her unique style perfectly matches her message.
“I wanted to do something bold and eye-catching. Boemeke said that videos featuring me in jeans and a T-shirt wouldn’t have the same appeal.”
“Models today have more freedom to talk about their lives and personalities. I am a huge nerd, and I love to express myself through fashion or makeup.”
This is the demand. The supply is increasing quickly
DressX sells a variety of outfits, ranging from 25-dollar hats to bizarre jellyfish-like dresses that cost hundreds of dollars.
Daria Shapovalova, co-founder of DressX, stated that digital fashion will become the norm for every brand.
According to its own research, 15% of customers use Instagram to post pictures. Nearly 25% of those who used it found that it fulfilled their needs for a new piece of clothing.
Michaela Larosse of The Fabricant said, “You don’t necessarily have to be physically fit to feel the thrill of wearing an exceptional garment.” She sold the first digital-only dress in May 2019, for $9,500.
“We’ll all have a digital selves, we’ll all have an avatar, and you’ll communicate about yourself, who are you, what interests you, and more through the iteration to your avatar.”
Reduce waste
Their appeal is also influenced by environmental concerns. Extinction Rebellion demonstrators demonstrated Tuesday at the Louis Vuitton Paris catwalk that the traditional fashion industry is one the most polluting and waste-generating industries on the planet.
Boemeke said, “I know many women who purchase an outfit and wear it once for a photo and then never again.”
“They could reduce waste and consumption by using digital fashion in a few of these posts.”
These businesses were clearly accelerated by the pandemic.
“People were left at home, with nothing to do. Loftus said that they had no place to put on those lovely clothes.”
She knows that digital fashion may not be for everyone, and it may never be.
“I don’t know if many of these people actually want to meet people in real life.” Loftus stated that she believes many of their desires and needs can be met online.
It can also be a great leveller, allowing anti-social people (almost literally!) to shed their skin and adopt another.
She said, “You could be an accountant, married with kids, and happy to be quite mundane in real-life, but the way that you express yourself in virtual worlds is completely different.”
