Most of us probably can’t imagine paying big bucks for clothes that only exist in an app or on a computer. Nonetheless digital fashion has been getting a lot more popular lately. And we’re not just talking about in-game clothing. Marketplaces are also selling luxury threads to make your Insta followers jealous with.
Luxury fashion in the digital world
Last year we saw several big brands team up with app and game makers to bring their lines to the digital world. Gucci provided Tennis Clash players with a few high-end sporty outfits, while Ralph Lauren brought its preppy looks to Snapchat. More recently Auroboros managed to become the first digital-only clothing brand to get featured in the fashion game Drest.
Digital-only fashion
So it seems the digital-fashion market is growing and more than a few companies are all too happy to jump aboard. As the pandemic has shifted out interactions to the world of screens, new marketplaces have popped up to shift our fashion experience along with them. Dress-X, XR Couture and The Dematerialised are all online marketplaces that exclusively sell digital clothing. The former two have already been launched, while The Dematerialised is still in a private beta.
Shop, upload, wear
How does it work? You start out pretty much like you would shop in any online store. But when you’re ready to check out, instead of just buying the product, you provide the shop with a picture of yourself. Then within a few days you get a mail with your brand new outfit hugging your body on the photo you provided. DressX also has a few video looks to choose from with clothing moving with the wind for example.
The Dematerialised aims to take this concept a step further. To make it all a bit more interactive they also offer 3D clothing and AR garments. That means you can see the clothes up close and personal in your own environment and score some 3D items for virtual reality or your favourite games. They use blockchain tech to track different stats, such as who it belongs to. That makes it possible for some lines to be exclusive, with maybe only 10 items. It also means you could sell your old clothes and transfer the ownership.
Future of fashion
So is this the future of fashion? If we fast forward into a sci-fi like scenario we might be able to take the looks outside, with everyone seeing digital avatars and wearing techy contacts. For now it could be away to deal with some sustainability problems in the fashion industry. Or as DressX puts it “Don’t shop less, shop digital fashion”.
H&M recently showed the world another way to tackle sustainability. Their Looop machine literally transforms old socks into brand new outfits.
Header image credit: Auroboros
