2022 WAS THE YEAR OF THE METAVERSE

by Jade Fisher 10 months ago

by Jade Fisher 10 months ago 7min

It’s been a big year for fashion in the Metaverse. Gucci gave us a gamified metaworld, Nike served Web3 realness with its “DOT SWOOSH” launch, and Tommy Hilfiger went ‘phygital’ with an NYFW show in the virtual world of Roblox.

But do we even care? Many may argue that it seems fruitless to be worrying about metaverse Prada outfits and virtual shopping experiences when we can barely afford to shop luxury goods IRL. Will the demand for metaverse launches in 2023 when people are struggling to pay their rent? Food for thought, indeed.

Whilst we don’t know what the next year will look like in the Metaverse, we do know that 2022 was game changing for brands, with the rise of virtual fashion platforms and assets skyrocketing. Stick around for CULTED’s round up of the biggest Meta news stories of the past year.

NIKE STEPPED INTO WORLD OF WEB3 WITH “.SWOOSH’

In a step closer towards a virtual fashion future, Nike launched its foray into the world of Web3 with its metaverse platform “.SWOOSH”. In a hope to attract like-minded individuals into the world of athleticism, the platform promised a community setting whereby users could purchase virtual products, share sports-related content and access a reliable source of news for all things Nike.

EQLZ PUSHED ‘PLANET-BASED SUPER SNEAKERS’

Following a drop of ‘planet-based super sneakers’, EQLZ turned its attention to innovating a Web3 community platform named “EQLZ SOCIETY”. The program represented the world’s first ‘Metaverse sneaker accelerator’ and encouraged users to visualise the next generation of sneaker product innovation.

FENG CHEN WANG’S SEASON OF VR SHOPPING

Shanghai-born designer Feng Chen Wan entered the virtual world of fashion with her eponymous label’s first metaverse fashion show back in June. Featuring season-defying tailoring and futuristic made-to-measure pieces, the brands digital presentation as a part of Shanghai Fashion Week made waves in the fashion sphere as it allowed customers to blend a virtual shopping experience with real life clothing.

TOMMY HILFIGER X ROBLOX WENT ‘PHYGITAL’

In a fashion-week first, Tommy Hilfiger’s physical A/W 2022 New York Fashion Week show offered users in the world of Roblox the chance to stream a virtual version of the show. The presentation, which marked Hilfiger’s first NYFW show in three years, featured avatars walking down the metaverse platform’s version of New York City dressed in each look from the collection.

META MARKETPLACE MOVES

Back in June, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of a digital fashion marketplace for style-conscious users’ avatars. In an attempt to lure high-fashion followers to the metaverse, brands like Balenciaga, Thom Browne and Prada featured in the marketplace launch, with Zuckerberg explaining that he hoped the creation of this service would allow people to ‘express themselves through what they wear (virtually)’.

BORED APE YACHT CLUB OPENED ‘OTHERSIDE’

Another brand to launch their own metaverse earlier this year was Bored Ape Yacht Club, the brainchild of Yuga Labs. Their gamified metaverse ‘Otherside’ was launched back in April, and allows users to purchase land via their native token ApeCoin ($APE). Following on from a slew of other brands to open their own metaverse communities, the label is sure to be the first of many to offer exclusive meta real estate over the coming year.

GUCCI WAS GIVING META

In one of the biggest meta moves of 2022, Gucci became the first ultra-luxe fashion house to build its own metaverse with digital real-estate platform ‘The Sandbox’. Inside the world, users could find the ‘Gucci Vault Land’ concept store, which showcased a curated range of rare Gucci pieces and allowed people to experience a full 360° adventure with activities to boot.

IG PUSHED NFT NORMALISATION

After a test back in May, Instagram launched plans to roll out a feature that would allow users to create their own digital collectables and sell them to followers. By sharing their NFTs and connecting their personal crypto wallets, the platform hoped to encourage fashion-forward Instagram users to spread the word and influence followers with their AR meta-fashion offerings.

FARFETCH FORAYED INTO CRYPTO PAYMENTS

Following the successful launches of crypto payment initiatives in Off-White’s flagship stores, as well as FARFETCH’s own sister-boutique, Browns, the luxury retailer announced that it would be accepting crypto-wallet payments across its FARFETCH Marketplace and participating boutiques and brands. Shoppers were finally able to pay using several forms of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB).