How Fashion Brands Are Capitalizing On The Metaverse Platform?

The fashion industry has always been known for being innovative and constantly evolving, and now it’s embracing the latest trend: the Metaverse. With the rise of virtual reality and blockchain technology, fashion brands are taking advantage of the Metaverse’s potential to revolutionize how customers experience fashion. By creating digital fashion items, virtual storefronts, digital currencies, and NFTs, fashion brands can tap into a new market and offer unique shopping experiences to customers. Let’s take a closer look at how fashion brands are taking advantage of the trending Metaverse platform.

What Is Metaverse?

The Metaverse refers to a virtual environment that utilizes spatial computing to offer digital experiences. This experience may serve as a substitute for, or a parallel to, the real world. It encompasses various fundamental aspects of the real world, such as social interactions, trade, economy, property ownership, etc., based on the underlying blockchain technology.

The early years of the internet in the 1970s are a good analogy for the Metaverse as there are various unknowns about its potential uses and functionality. While it is currently a trending subject and a significant number of individuals are acquainted with its workings, there remains a need to establish a definitive trajectory for this emerging technology.

Giants like Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Apple, and many others are heavily investing in Metaverse these days. This has led to the expectations that the global Metaverse market size will cross $1,525.7 Billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 43.7% from 2021 to 2030.

The Metaverse is a futuristic and innovative concept that combines various digital worlds and makes them accessible through multiple devices. It allows individuals to interact and engage with one another from anywhere in the world. Its potential for creating an entirely new ecosystem for online applications or real-world markets in the virtual world is one of the reasons it has generated so much attention from investors and digital enthusiasts alike. As the technology behind it evolves, the use cases for Metaverse become more refined. 

The Metaverse is expected to grow into a vast and dynamic system impacting multiple facets of daily life. The Metaverse has a lot of potentials to influence the digital environment of the future, and it will be intriguing to see how it develops. Collaboration among experts in diverse fields will be essential to create a robust and sustainable Metaverse that can support a wide range of virtual reality applications. The Metaverse holds great promise for shaping the digital landscape of the future, and its evolution will be fascinating to witness.

The Metaverse: a persistent, live digital universe that affords individuals a sense of agency, social presence, and shared spatial awareness, along with the ability to participate in an extensive virtual economy with profound societal impact.

Karinna Nobbs (Co-CEO of The Dematerialised)

Overview Of The Metaverse Industry 

• By 2024, the Metaverse market is forecasted to reach $800 Billion, up from $47 billion in 2020.
• The global augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) markets reached 28 billion US dollars in 2021, rising to over 250 billion US dollars by 2028.
• According to reports, the top brands in fashion, including Adidas, Gucci, and Nike, have used NFTs alone to generate $137.5 million in sales in the Metaverse.
• As per the report by Mckinsey, 59% of consumers are eager to move their daily activities into the Metaverse.
• According to AR Insider, more than 55% of VR users found the experience extremely or moderately satisfying.
• In a recent survey by AR Insider, 45% of business leaders said they understand the Metaverse well.
• The Metaverse in fashion market share is expected to increase to USD 6.61 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market’s growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 36.47%.

How Are Fashion Brands Leveraging The Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a complex ecosystem that interweaves various emerging technologies such as VR, AR, and blockchain to create a 3D virtual world. The potential applications of Metaverse are vast, including fashion, where brands are exploring the possibilities of immersive shopping experiences and virtual fashion shows. 

Luxury fashion brands are tapping into the tech revolution by creating digital garments solely for virtual identities. Some are experimenting with NFTs to increase their brand value and revenue. 

• Italian luxury brand D&G’s Genesis collection was the first-ever drop by a major luxury fashion brand to include NFTs. It fetched $5.65 million during its auction in September 2021. The opulent UNXD marketplace presented the collection, which, in collaboration with D&G, became the first-ever major luxury fashion brand to include NFTs.
• Gucci created a 4-minute film that sold for $25,000 and collaborated with Roblox to launch a digital experience. Later, Gucci collaborated with Roblox for Gucci Garden, which offered multiple immersive themed rooms where players could try and purchase digital Gucci items for their avatars.
• Ralph Lauren also launched a digital clothing collection, ‘The Ralph Lauren Winter Escape,’ on Roblox, where players can customize their avatar’s clothing at Polo shops.
• Burberry created designs for the popular Chinese game ‘Honor of Kings’ as a way to create community and connect with local Chinese customers. 
• Louis Vuitton extended its gaming strategy by launching a mobile game that includes 30 NFTs made in collaboration with NFT artist Beeple. 
• Balmain and Barbie recently announced a collaboration in 2022 that includes a ready-to-wear fashion and accessories line and three NFTs. In fact, the three unique Barbie avatars dressed in pieces from the collection were auctioned online by mintNFT.
• Balenciaga has created a dedicated business unit to explore the opportunities for marketing and commerce in the Metaverse. It released its 2021 Fall Collection through the game ‘Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow.’

Top Brands Shaping The Metaverse Fashion Industry

Here are some of the big brands and their contribution to the Metaverse Fashion Industry:

1. Nike

• HQ: USA
• Metaverse Partner(s):  RTFKT, Roblox
• Activity: Acquisition 
• Category: Athletic Apparel
• Description:
  • Nike acquired RTFTK, which was used to release the company’s NFT projects.
  • Nike is a virtual space inside Roblox.

2. Adidas

• HQ: Germany
• Metaverse Partner(s): The Sandbox
• Activity: Virtual Space
• Category: Athletic Apparel
• Description:
  • Adidas acquired the virtual property in The Sandbox.
  • They collaborated with Yuga Labs, creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club, for an NFT Project.

3. Puma

• HQ: Germany
• Metaverse Partner(s):  Ethereum
• Activity: NFT Collection
• Category: Athletic Apparel
• Description:
  • Puma launched BlackStation, an interactive Metaverse Experience.
  • It changed its Twitter name to PUMA.eth.

4. Forever 21

• HQ: USA
• Metaverse Partner(s): Roblox
• Activity: Virtual Space
• Category: Fast Fashion / Mid-Range
• Description:
  • Forever 21’s virtual world, Forever 21 Smart City, allows the company to have virtual space inside Roblox.
  • Players in Forever 21 Smart City can create their own shops, hire employees, and individually design products.

5. Tommy Hilfiger

• HQ: Netherlands
• Metaverse Partner(s): Roblox, Animal Crossing
• Activity: Digital Clothing
• Category: Fast Fashion / Mid-Range
• Description:
  • Tommy Hilfiger partnered with Nintendo’s Animal Crossing New Horizons.
  • They launched their virtual clothing collection for Roblox players.

6. Boohoo

• HQ: UK
• Metaverse Partner(s): Ethereum
• Activity: NFT Project
• Category: Fast Fashion / Mid-Range
• Description:
  • Boohoo launched its first Digital collection, an NFT project.

7. Ralph Lauren

• HQ: USA
• Metaverse Partner(s): Roblox, Zepeto
• Activity: Virtual Space
• Category: Fast Fashion / Mid-Range
• Description:
  • Ralph Lauren launched a virtual game on Roblox called Ralph Lauren Winter Escape.
  • Their Roblox game included gender-neutral collections for avatars.

8. Dolce & Gabbana

• HQ: Italy
• Metaverse Partner(s): Polygon, UNXD
• Activity: NFT Project
• Category: Luxury Fashion
• Description:
  • Dolce & Gabbana launched an NFT project called Collezione Genesi.
  • Some NFTs of the brand’s NFT project came with physical pieces.

9. Balenciaga

• HQ: France
• Metaverse Partner(s): Epic Games
• Activity: Digital Clothing
• Category: Luxury Fashion
• Description:
  • Balenciaga launched digital skins for players in Epic Games’ Fortnite.

10. Burberry

• HQ: UK
• Metaverse Partner(s): Roblox, Tencent Games
• Activity: Digital Clothing
• Category: Luxury Fashion
• Description:
  • Burberry designed digital skins for the game Honor of Kings.
  • Burberry launched a virtual bag collection on Roblox.

11. Louis Vuitton

• HQ: France
• Metaverse Partner(s): Beeple
• Activity: NFT Project
• Category: LVMH Brands
• Description:
  • Louis Vuitton launched Louis – The Game, where players get to collect NFTs designed by a digital artist, Beeple.

12. Givenchy

• HQ: France
• Metaverse Partner(s): Roblox
• Activity: NFT Project
• Category: LVMH Brands
• Description: 
  • Givenchy launched 15 NFTs on Polygon.
  • Several luxury companies, under the name Aura Blockchain Consortium, were consulted for Givenchy’s NFTs.

13. JW Anderson

• HQ: UK
• Metaverse Partner(s): xydrobe
• Activity: NFT Project
• Category: LVMH Brands
• Description:
  • JW Anedrson’s first NFT was a Cardigan worn by the artist Harry Styles. This cardigan is now a part of the British National Museum.

14. Dior

• HQ: France
• Metaverse Partner(s): Ready Player Me
• Activity: Digital Avatars
• Category: LVMH Brands
• Description:
  • Dior partnered with Ready Player Me to create digital avatars.
  • Dior’s NFTs allowed owners access to exclusive Dior Fragrances for purchase.

What Do the Benefits Entering The Metaverse Brings To Fashion Brands?

The fashion industry is known for setting trends and is now staying ahead of the curve as technology advances. With the rapid emergence of the Metaverse, apparel brands are increasingly adopting new technologies, including NFTs, and exploring innovative mediums. Entering the Metaverse can provide numerous benefits and prove to be a highly successful brand strategy. Here are some key reasons why:

1. Massive Margins

Digital collections offer designers a hassle-free alternative to traditional fashion creation. Digital fashion can yield significant profits, with virtual garments often representing close to 100% pure profit for their creators. Compared to the labor-intensive and resource-consuming traditional fashion process, digital fashion can be an attractive and lucrative business opportunity.

2. Secondary Market Profits

Creating fashion NFTs in the Metaverse has led to great profits and offered the opportunity for designers to earn royalties with every transaction. NFTs use smart contracts to specify terms and conditions for the digital asset, enabling brands to embed a code for royalties each time a virtual garment is resold. The Fabricant, a digital fashion house, is among those adopting this approach, earning a 5% royalty on resold garments.

3. No Inventory Or Oversupply

A virtual fashion collection can eliminate overproduction issues by existing solely in the digital environment, providing buyers with the details to produce a physical version if desired. This approach offers a unique way to experiment with garments in the Metaverse and place orders for real-life pieces only once they’re ordered. This digital-first strategy can help reduce waste, streamline production, and create a sustainable and customer-friendly approach to fashion.

4. Innovation And Creativity

The Metaverse offers a unique opportunity for iconic fashion platforms to recreate their archival designs in digital form. Creating fashion for the Metaverse removes limitations of the physical world. It allows innovative and eccentric designs made from impossible fabrics like liquid gold, water, fire, etc. This breathes new life into the industry and expands the possibilities for creativity.

5. High Personalization And Engagement

The Metaverse allows for personalized fashion tailored to each avatar with unique serial numbers for digital items, adding value to an increasingly customer-centric market. Moreover, fashion brands are leveraging the Metaverse technology to create dynamic and immersive retail experiences for their customers in virtual spaces. It offers endless opportunities for brands to create engaging experiences that keep pace with the time.

6. Accessibility

The Metaverse offers a decentralized platform to brands that eliminate intermediaries. It makes it easier for emerging designers and established fashion brands to showcase their work in virtual worlds. With the upcoming web3 and the next generation of the internet, the barrier to entry will be significantly lowered, presenting opportunities for all to share and promote their fashion designs in Metaverse boutique stores.

7. Carbon Footprint

Never thought a technology like the Metaverse could benefit the environment. Creating a Metaverse platform for your fashion business can help reduce its carbon footprint by eliminating physical samples found in traditional apparel stores. With this in mind, it’s time to consider the costs of implementing a Metaverse platform.

How Can Fashion Businesses Enter The Metaverse?

Here are some ways that fashion and retail businesses can get involved in the Metaverse experience:

• Fashion brands can establish themselves in the Metaverse by hosting digital events or fashion shows in video game worlds. For example, Gucci partnered with Roblox to create a virtual Gucci Gardens, and Balenciaga collaborated with Fortnite to create gaming avatars. Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, and Elie Saab have also entered the Metaverse to create a digital presence for their brand in the world of Web3.
• Utilizing NFTs can help fashion brands gain traction in the Metaverse. Brands can create and sell digital versions of clothing using NFTs, utilizing the opportunities for their target audience. For example, Dolce and Gabbana collaborated with UNXD to sell their first luxury collection with NFTs, providing buyers with both digital and physical versions of the collectible item, as well as access to future virtual Metaverse shows.
• Consider accepting cryptocurrency as a payment option to give your business an edge and reassure customers of your product’s authenticity. This can help in preventing counterfeiting. Major luxury brands like Prada and Gucci have already adopted this payment method, attracting customers who prefer using digital currency. In this blog, we’ll focus on Metaverse platform development for fashion businesses.

How Can You Create A Metaverse Fashion Platform?

1. Analyze Your Business Idea

It is crucial to understand and meet the needs of your target audience. If you plan to display new avatars of your fashion line through video games, it’s important to understand the fundamentals and ensure your idea is both creative and unique for success in the Metaverse universe.

2. Market Research

A thorough market research can help you build a Metaverse platform for your fashion business. It helps you understand your competitors and the latest trends in this virtual technology. Analyze major fashion brands’ Metaverse initiatives and create an effective action plan or business roadmap to implement your platform successfully.

3. Choose A Development Company

You can hire or build a team to develop a custom platform for your business in a fashion niche using the latest technologies and features. Idea Usher’s dedicated team of project managers, developers, designers, and quality analysts can help you create a robust Metaverse fashion platform.

4. UI/UX Process

Once you hire a development team, you can finalize the UI/UX design for your Metaverse platform with them. The designing process is important to increase user engagement and retention. You can create a rough prototype of the platform architecture and test it in multiple sprints to develop a seamless end product.

5. Coding Process

Once the UI/UX design is finalized, you can start the coding process and witness your idea taking shape. The duration of the entire coding process depends on the overall complexity of the platform. The complexity can impact the development time frame, which can take 3 to 9 months or more. It is important to note that the complexity of the platform depends on the number of features you want to integrate and the technology used.

Here are some required technologies for fashion business on the Metaverse platform:

IoT	Data management	Integration	Real-time simulation
Artificial Intelligence	Computer controlled actions	Avatars	Language processing IoT
Blockchain	Decentralization	Interoperability	Storage
3D Reconstruction	Photo-realistic objects	Vivid experience	Digital twins
AR and VR	Embedding virtual object	Connectivity	Immersive graphics

6. Quality Assurance And Deployment

This is a crucial step as it ensures a bug-free and smooth-running Metaverse platform, leading to significant ROIs. Quality assurance specialists test the software after the coding process is complete to ensure its proper functioning and smooth experience. Followed by the testing process, the Metaverse platform is prepared to deploy. It is at this step important to understand that the launch time and total expenses of your final product also rely on the platform it is built upon. Other factors affecting the Metaverse platform cost are:

• The software’s wireframe
• UI/UX design
• Development charges and process
• Underlying platform
• Features 
• Technology stack
• Maintenance

Case Study Of Metaverse Fashion Trends 

Case 1:

At the NRF 2023 conference, experts from Roblox, Tommy Hilfiger, and Shiseido discussed the growing significance of the Metaverse and virtual reality as a marketplace and a communication medium. 

• Roblox has over 60 million daily active users, with more than half being over 13 years old. 
• Tommy Hilfiger and Shiseido have both launched unique experiences on the Roblox platform. 
• Hilfiger’s virtual fashion show offered augmented reality, where avatars could try on new clothes, while Shiseido’s campaign, launched around an island theme, brought in $19.6 million in limited goods sales. 
• The panel agreed that virtual reality can be both global and local and that virtual goods present an opportunity for real-world brands in the near future.

Case 2:

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has launched a virtual clothing store called “Meta Avatars Store” that offers digital outfits for avatars on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. 

• Initially, Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne partnered with Meta to offer their digital outfits for the store. 
• It is expected that other brands will join in the future, and Meta intends to make the store an open marketplace for developers to create and sell clothing. 
• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that digital goods will be an essential way to express oneself in the Metaverse and will be a driving force for the creative economy.
• The Meta Avatars Store will start rolling out in the United States, Canada, Thailand, and Mexico, and the company plans to introduce more brands soon. 
• This announcement follows Meta’s recent efforts to enhance its avatars, investing in building the Metaverse and bringing 3D avatars to Instagram.

Case 3:

Pacsun has collaborated with Metaverse developer – The Gang to launch “building tycoon” on Roblox. 

• The Pacsun Los Angeles Tycoon experience allows gamers to build their own map of SoCal, which includes building opportunities in Downtown LA, Santa Monica, and Hollywood. 
• Once each region is completed by a single user, a dedicated piece of a Pacsun store in the specific zone will be unlocked, representing a prize. 
• Users then get access to the store and can buy community-created merchandise. The game also features Easter eggs, such as best-selling graphic tees and obstacle courses promoting the Los Angeles lifestyle. 
• Pacsun released its first Roblox launch, an interactive mall experience dubbed Pacworld, in April 2022. According to the company, launching a game on Roblox is typically cheaper than launching an IRL collection.

Build Your Metaverse Platform With Idea Usher

Metaverse is the buzzword that has the potential to create a new ecosystem for online applications and real-world markets in the virtual world. The fashion industry has already begun exploring the possibilities of immersive shopping experiences and virtual fashion shows by leveraging the Metaverse. They are using NFTs and collaborating with game platforms like Roblox to create virtual experiences, which can yield significant profits, offer secondary market profits, and eliminate overproduction issues. 

Idea Usher is a development company that can help you build your fashion business on the Metaverse platform. With the potential of Metaverse and Idea Usher’s expertise in development, businesses can create a strong and sustainable virtual presence. As technology evolves, businesses need to work with experts in diverse fields to create a robust and sustainable digital platform that can shape the virtual landscape of the future.

Contact Idea Usher at [email protected]

Or reach out at: (+1)732 962 4560, (+91)859 140 7140

FAQ

Q. How does a fashion business enter the Metaverse?

A. To join the Metaverse, a fashion brand engages with a professional Metaverse development company to design a platform tailored to their specific needs. This will allow them to provide users with a smooth shopping experience in the virtual reality environment and Web3.

Q. What advantages do fashion brands gain by entering the Metaverse?

A. When a fashion brand steps into the Metaverse for the digital venture, it gains certain advantages as listed below:

• Massive margins
• Secondary market profits
• No oversupply
• Innovation and creativity
• High personalization 
• Engagement
• Accessibility
• Carbon footprint

Q. Is the Metaverse the future of fashion?

A. Establishing a fashion business in the Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize the way customers interact with fashion. By leveraging virtual reality, customers can immerse themselves in a digital shopping experience. The Metaverse presents an unprecedented opportunity for fashion brands to unleash their creativity and build a new standard for the industry. It also allows the use of digital currency and NFTs, which provides a secure and seamless transaction process.

Q. How is the Metaverse changing the fashion industry?

A. The Metaverse is changing the fashion industry by providing a new platform for apparel brands to connect with customers conveniently. Through the use of virtual reality, digital currency, and NFTs, customers can interact with fashion products for immersive shopping experiences. This also allows increased creativity and innovation in the industry.