What every fashion fan should know about the metaverse

Lockwood’s guide: 6 things fashion fans should know about the metaverse

September is the month of all things Fashion in Avakin Life. This is when we truly celebrate global fashion and design, and express ourselves through digital wares.

With new weekly releases, events and parties, there’s a lot going on for Avakins. Before we get going though, there’s some essential ground to cover for those that are entering our world for the first time. And for the seasoned Avakins among us, stick around, you might even pick up a new trick or two…

Access to exclusive items

What is the real appeal of digital fashion? It’s certainly a different taste to physically owning an item, or attending a show in person. Instead, it’s the hyper-personalised aspects of changing your look and your personality with the flick of a button that helps digital fashion supersede the physical.

This Fashion month is no different. Players will have access to exclusive options, designer pieces, and digital items that aren’t even possible in the real world. Want to pair some wings with a ballgown? Go for it. The metaverse is a truly unique experience — inclusive for all. It lets you show the most exciting sides of your creativity. The only real question is: what will you design?

Sustainable fashion

On average, the production of a digital garment saves 3300 litres of water per item — enough for a person to drink two litres everyday for 3.5 years. Staggering numbers. Amazingly, it’s not the only way the metaverse has helped fashion to become a more long-lasting model.

Even before the pandemic, the world of fashion retail had continued to take a series of heavy financial blows. The UK market alone experienced its worst year on record back in 2019. So while we previously touched on the positive environmental elements of digital fashion in our recent piece, digital fashion was on hand to offer the necessary shot in the arm to the retail industry — just when it needed it most.

Virtual identity

Be whoever you want to be, however you want to be. That’s what we constantly champion. Our metaverse welcomes everyone, and every way they choose you present themselves. Fashion Month is the perfect showcase for this.

Instead of browsing for clothes online — which can often feel soulless and disconnected. Digital Fashion allows explorers of the metaverse to dress their 3D avatars up for any occasion. They can be as close to or as removed from their offline persona as possible. The creative freedom is limitless beyond imagination!

Simply put, the metaverse has allowed fashion to — quite literally — enter another dimension. And although some kind of renaissance may be on the cards in the future for the physical experience, the digital world has ensured fashion remains future proof for generations to come — reaching consumers on the platforms where they now live their shared lives. And in our opinions, a win for a more sustainable model, is a win for us all.

Digital wardrobe of billions of combinations

A (more than) fair critique of fashion has always been its perceived exclusivity coupled with what can sometimes be, a pretty limited selection. With the metaverse in tow though, this is no longer the case. Remaining inclusive is at the crux of everything that we do, we never shy away from this. This inclusivity means the virtual consumer has access to designer items, which previously may have been beyond their reach. Or, the fact that during the height of the pandemic last year, 143,000,000 different purchases were made on Avakin. Gone are the days of digital fashion being seen as “niche”.

Our players enjoy the idea of access to service, rather than possessing the physical item. What better way to showcase this than a digital wardrobe? Where instead of a physical chest of drawers full of wrong sized clothes, you have access to 30k fashion items. Combine these and you can create billions of variations of you. So, who will you choose to be today?

Brands in the metaverse fashion

Different brands are now entering the metaverse to both offer virtual retail items and build branded spaces for creativity to flourish. At Lockwood, we have worked with real world brands, such as Nike and Superdry. Last spring we collaborated with Brazilian cosmetics brand O Boticário, one of the top cosmetics brands in LATAM. Together we opened a virtual O Boticário shop inside Avakin Life. For five weeks, millions of Avakins participated in the O Boticário experience and tried out different cosmetics, resulting in 800,000 virtual items sold.

Brands that are engaging with virtual worlds (Gucci, Adidas, Nike, Louis Vuitton and others) are looking to build an experience around their brand to create user-driven engagement that includes immersed digital experiences.

On the surface, you could be left scratching your head at the seemingly unlikely partnership between the worlds of fashion and gaming. However, both are famed for risk-taking, going against the grain, and setting trends — a solid foundation for any relationship if you ask us!

Fashion design

Where do the next fashion superstars come from? Anywhere! The creativity among our players is huge, and we can already see some budding fashion designers that will design digital first, or maybe digital only. Metaverse embraces global talent.

Long-relationship? Yes. A fling? Most definitely not. Perhaps the most important takeaway that fans and naysayers alike should remember is that fashion in the metaverse is here to stay. We’re not just here for a good time, we’re here for a long time to come! This is only the beginning.

As always, we’d love to hear from you. What do you want to see from us this Fashion Month? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook or drop us a message on Instagram!