Technavio, the technology research and advisory firm, has predicted that the metaverse will hit a market share value of $50.37 billion by the year 2026.
It has been reported that the trillion-dollar fashion industry has started taking a major interest in the metaverse. While most luxury labels and brands remain focused on creating nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to replicate physical items, a handful of projects have started bringing their communities into the metaverse.
However, on September 5, Vogue Singapore (for example) launched a fashion-first Web3 community known as “Vogue Singapore’s New World.” While Vogue Singapore has previously shown an interest in NFTs by tokenizing their September 2021 cover, Natasha Damodaran, the Managing Director of Vogue Singapore, said that the publication has gone a step further by creating a virtual experience that encompasses the theme of “Fashion’s New World.”
She explained that the platform allows its community to interact with various types of content and imagery.
She added:
“Vogue Singapore’s New World currently allows users to explore a surrealism-inspired realm featuring a welcome video from Vogue’s September 2022 cover star and supermodel Lina Zhang. Users can also experience an AI-generated beauty shoot called Bio RESONANCE by artist Terry Gates, along with digital couture by Beijing-based designer Yimeng Yu created exclusively for Vogue Singapore.”
The report said that Damodaran explained that Vogue’s metaverse is powered by Spatial.io, a metaverse platform that specializes in 3D spaces. The virtual space has also been designed by Polycount.io, an agency focused on NFTs.
Gianna Valintina, the Head of Marketing at Spatial, said that Vogue Singapore’s metaverse is accessible via mobile devices, desktops, and virtual reality (VR).
Valintina added that users who enter the New World are able to create a custom avatar that can then be dressed in two Vogue-exclusive wearable creations by fashion designer Yimeng Yu.
Likewise, Damodaran further noted that users can interact directly with Vogue Singapore’s September cover, while reading various pieces of content associated with images.
While Vogue Singapore’s New World enables a more engaging way for users to view and read content, Valintina stressed that this also allows brands and communities to build better experiences. Indeed, Damodaran noted that the metaverse offers labels an opportunity to expand their reach to other market segments while showcasing creativity and craftsmanship.
She said:
“For Vogue, that means connecting the fashion community and introducing them to Web3 and vice-versa while still creating avenues of engagement that are relevant on digital platforms.”
Although this concept is still new, it resonated with Yu, who created the two digital couture designs for the platform. Yu said that the development of digital technology and the surge of online life in the post-epidemic era have brought new opportunities to the fashion industry.
Thus, Yu concluded:
“Digital technologies and Intelligent production are innovating the fashion design paradigm, production process, display method, retailing path and user experience within the fashion industry. In both designer creativity and user experience perspective, the metaverse brings the fashion industry endless possibilities.”
Source: Cointelegraph