K-startups take note of growing demand for 'meta fashion'

Meta fashion, a combination of fashion, metaverse, and NFT, is becoming a global trend. 

The MZ generation, as those in their 20s and 30s are called in Korea, consider their online personas to be as important as their physical selves in defining their identity. The fact that you can make a profit from tokenized digital fashion is also supporting demand. 

D&G NFT COLLECTION SELLS FOR $5.7 MILLION

Meta fashion first made headlines around the world in May 2019. 

Dutch fashion startup The Fabricant put one of its virtual dresses up for auction and sold it to Richard Ma, the chief executive of San Francisco-based security company Quantstamp, for $9,500. The image was rendered onto a photo of his wife May Ren and shared on her social media account. 

Back then, that was that. 

Fast forward to 2021 and virtual clothing is an industry of its own after incorporating metaverse and NFT. There are now a number of meta fashion companies such as the aforementioned The Fabricant, virtual sneakers and collectibles maker RTFKT, and curated shopping experience provider DRESSX. 

In October, RTFKT collaborated with fashion designer Jeff Staple to produce some 800 virtual sneakers, each pair selling for around $20,000.

High-end fashion houses are also jumping in on the meta fashion trend; namely Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, and Hugo Boss.

At the end of September, Dolce & Gabbana reportedly sold its nine-piece digital NFT collection alongside some physical couture at auction for the equivalent of nearly $5.7 million.

Gucci has launched a new initiative within the Gucci Arcade section of its app called Gucci Sneaker Garage. The app will enable users to access a series of tools to tweak and design their own Gucci shoes based on parts of existing models. The section will also feature the first-ever virtual sneaker and the silhouette can be tried on or paired with virtual personas in augmented reality.

On gaming platform Roblox, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry have launched exclusive designs for the online gaming giant's userbase. 

PROFITING ON THE BACK OF NFT

Domestic digital fashion startup OFOTD recently announced that it will launch a digital dress service in mid-December. 

The announcement comes as K-pop megastar Lee Hyori wore a digital dress and a blazer made by OFOTD and another designer lesugiatelier at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) last weekend. 

One factor behind such skyrocketing demand for digital fashion is a shift in the way we see value. For the younger generation, one’s digital persona is no less important than their physical one. 

With the advancement of metaverse technology, the adaptability of digital clothing has also expanded. 

Back in 2019 when Ma purchased The Fabricant's dress for his wife, rendering the product onto a photo was the extent to which the buyer could utilize the product. 

These days, there are AR services that allow users to do a “virtual fitting” of digital clothing on avatars. 

Lastly, most digital fashion items are also turned into NFTs. If you view your digital clothing item to be of high value, you can resell it for higher than what you paid for it because you can prove yours to be the original on the digital ledger. 

The trend is expected to continue. US investment bank Morgan Stanley forecasts the high-end fashion NFT market to reach $56 billion by 2030. 

Write to Min-jun Suh at morandol@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article