Move over Paris, Milan, and New York.  Between March 24-27, 2022, Decentraland hosted its first-ever Metaverse Fashion Week, dubbed MVFW.  How did the event work?  What were some of the highlights?

Virtual Fashion Shows and More

Decentraland hosted a four-day event consisting of fashion shows, after-parties, panel discussions, and shopping experiences.  The digital event occurred within the platform’s Fashion District and its neighborhoods, such as the Luxury Fashion District, Rarible Street, and others. Over 60 fashion brands, artists, and designers participated in the event.[1] Anyone could view the event, but they needed an Ethereum wallet to purchase items during the shows.

Luxury fashion brands used the virtual event to host fashion shows and open stores in Decentraland, selling both physical items deliverable in the real world and digital goods accompanied by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).[2] 

Virtual avatars walked the runways of several fashion brands.  Some of the items were wearable, meaning that attendees, via their avatars, could purchase and wear the items.  Some of the items had physical twins in the real world.  A person could buy a digital item via an NFT and wear it instantly on their avatar.  For some items, they were able to redeem the NFT for the brand’s physical complement.  While visiting a virtual store, a customer may scan a QR code to see a realistic-looking 3D rendering of the item pop up in their physical space at home via a smartphone camera.

Some Highlights

• Dolce & Gabbana put on a literal catwalk where cat-faced avatar models showcased the collection.  After the show, the full collection became viewable in an exclusive D&G pop-up in the Luxury Fashion District.
• Estee Lauder gave away 10,000 NFT-backed digital wearables that it says gives avatars a glowing aura.
• Retailer Forever 21 rented the equivalent of 450,000 square feet of space to open a virtual store with digital avatars acting as sales associates and they had 10 NFTs for sale.  The NFTs offered outfits for avatars to wear or collect.
• Etro decided to preview a real-world collection for their first fashion show in the metaverse.  The collection of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear looks was worn by 20 avatar models. 
• Coach was one of the brands who converted an existing physical item into an NFT wearable.
• There was a fireside chat with designer Tommy Hilfiger.
• Grimes gave a virtual performance. 

The event highlights the exciting potential that the platform has for melting the divide between the physical and digital worlds and expanding the ways that both technology and fashion companies connect with their customers.

[1] Metaverse Fashion Week is Here, Decentraland website, 3/23/22

[2] For more information, read our blog post on non-fungible tokens