Spending tens to hundreds of yuan to buy luxury brand fashion items has become a reality in the meta-universe. However, such fashion items are virtual fashions that can only be seen but cannot be touched.
The popularity of the meta-universe concept has made the fashion industry also smell business opportunities, and this year, fashion brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga, and Lauff Lauren have entered the meta-universe and launched virtual fashion. Is this an advanced version of the "QQ show" or the emperor's new clothes? Will virtual fashion be the trend of the future?
Balenciaga partnered with the game platform Fortnite to design costumes for the virtual characters in the game Image source: Balenciaga
What is the metacosm?
The metacosm is a virtual world parallel to the real world. It is not a specific application or product, but a concept. In this virtual world, people have their own avatars, which can be used to shop, eat out, attend virtual concerts, and interact with others as they do in the real world. At present, the carrier form of the metaverse is mainly an online game platform, which will continue to evolve and extend in the future.
Fashion brands, on the other hand, are targeting virtual shopping experiences. Players purchase costumes in the Metaverse to shape their avatars in the virtual world.
Why is virtual fashion so popular?
Although the concept of meta-universe has exploded this year, fashion brands have long launched virtual clothing. In 2019, Louis Vuitton developed a "skin" for Players of League of Legends.
The epidemic has also fueled the virtual clothing tide. The pandemic has made people stay at home longer, and social distancing policies have allowed people to spend more time socializing online. The data shows that U.S. adults spend 7 hours and 50 minutes a day on digital devices in 2020, a 15 percent increase from 2019.
In order to seize this outlet, major fashion brands have formulated meta-universe strategies, Balenciaga set up a special meta-universe business unit, Gucci, Burberry launched virtual clothing, Nike hired a designer specializing in the design of virtual sneakers.
Gucci's virtual fashion launched on the game platform Zepeto Image source: Gucci
Why is virtual fashion driving these well-known brands crazy? Simply put: profitable. Morgan Stanley said that by 2030, meta-universe can expand the potential market for luxury brands by more than 10%, bringing in more than $50 billion in revenue.
First, for brands, launching virtual clothing means no need to procure raw materials, pay labor costs and transportation fees. At the same time, the brand side has a large number of finished products that can be used as templates for virtual fashion, reducing design costs. In addition, virtual clothing is also more environmentally friendly, compared to the production of real clothes, making a virtual clothing can consume 97% less carbon and 872 gallons of water, and the brand side does not have to face the problem of end-of-season inventory.
Virtual dress designed by virtual fashion brand Tribute Image source: Tribute
Second, virtual fashion also has a certain appeal to consumers. Spending real money and silver to buy clothes that can't be touched sounds ridiculous. But virtual fashion is not much different from the "QQ show" that once made the post-80s and post-90s crazy, and the "skin" that now makes gamers "kryptonite".
The target group of virtual fashion is mainly the "digital natives" of Generation Z, and as the time spent online in the future increases, this group will pay more attention to their own image in the virtual world.
And some big-name virtual fashions aren't as expensive as they might think. In September 2021, Balenciaga launched a "skin" on the gaming platform Fortnite for about $8. On the game platform Roblox, you can buy Ralph Lauren's winter clothes for $3-5, including down jackets, beanies and ski suits.
Ralph Lauren's winter clothes launched on the game platform Roblox Image source: Ralph Lauren official website
For ordinary young people, you can buy big brands for a small amount of money, and you don't have to consider the body restrictions to achieve "freedom of dressing", which is not the reason why we were obsessed with "QQ show" back then?
Virtual fashion also gives designers more creative freedom, and they can use their imagination without being limited by fabrics.
Digital fashion company Fabricant designed the virtual dress "Rainbow" Image source: social media
Where can I buy it?
At present, there is no unified meta-universe platform, and fashion brands mainly launch virtual fashion on game platforms, such as "Robles", "The Sims", "Fortnite" and so on. In Asia, the hottest meta-universe platform is South Korea's Zepeto (Chinese version called Cub), which has 250 million users and has sold more than 1.6 billion virtual fashion items. For every 5,000 gold coins sold on the platform, a designer's work is rewarded with $106. According to the BBC, a 28-year-old Canadian designer earned "six-figure income" by designing virtual fashion on the platform.
However, at present, virtual fashion can only be worn on the platform where it is purchased, and cannot be used in various scenes in the metaverse.
Ralph Lauren's fashion launch on Zepeto Image source: Ralph Lauren
Although all walks of life are gearing up for the metaverse, the metacosm is still in its infancy, and some people are looking forward to its ideal state of virtual and real interoperability, and some people are full of doubts, thinking that this is not a marketing scam.
In short, it is of course understandable to buy a virtual big name to be poor and happy, but living the real life of the moment is the most wonderful meta-universe.