The seasonal physical Fashion Week may be over, but the festivities are only just starting in the Metaverse. Bridging the gap between fashion and technology, the Institute of Digital Fashion, a leader in the world of URL fashion, is hosting British designer Bradley Sharpe at the event, a first for the designer who’s never ventured into the Metaverse.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS MVFW?
Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) is the digital version of regular Fashion Week, where brands, designers and storefronts alike are able to showcase their new virtual pieces and collections to the world. Sponsored by culture and arts platform UNDX, the MVFW allows users from around the world to enter its space on the Decentraland platform between March 28 and 31. Last year, the event brought in over 108,000 guests, a number which is set to be surpassed this year.
AND WHAT IS HAPPENING?
This year’s MVFW will be host to a long list of attendees, including Tommy Hilfiger, adidas and DKNY, as well as IoDF bringing Bradley Shapre into the experience. Speaking of the event, IoDF’s founder Leanne Elliott-Young stated “These emerging designers are the luxury IRL x URL fashion houses of the future. IoDF is intent on building the skills and use cases to have a successful pivot to digital”. Apart from groundbreaking digital designs, you can expect to see A.I. generated looks, design competitions, galleries, and just as in real-life Fashion Weeks, killer outfits dubbed as ‘skins’
WHO CAN ATTEND?
One of the main attractions to the MVFW is that anyone can attend. There is no guest list and no tickets required, further breaking down the elitist nature of the fashion industry, giving anyone and everyone the opportunity to witness and participate in the event. As long as you’ve got a computer and a steady Wi-Fi connection, you’re in.
AND HOW EXACTLY CAN YOU ATTEND?
While anyone can attend, there are a few things you must do before entering the space. Firstly, you will need to open a crypto wallet, but don’t worry this is completely free and relatively easy. By downloading the Chrome extension MetaMask, you can easily create a wallet in just a few simple steps just like creating any online account. Once that’s done, you can enter Decentraland by going onto its website and connecting with your new wallet. Then it is up to you to navigate through the different spaces available, including IoDF whose showroom coordinates are -75 8, -74 8, -75 7, -74 7, or just type /goto -74,7 into Decentraland’s chatbox to be escorted there.
IT’S FASHION WEEK, GO ALL OUT
The fashionable event wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t for the clothes, right? So to attend the event and feel like a VIP celebrity, you can deck on your virtual fit. Decentraland offers 2 luxury wearable outfits, though each are only made in 100 rare editions, so go grab one while you still can. IoDF offers its Emblem 001 Skin titled “AT THE END OF THE WORLD, DO YOU NEED MORE CLOTHES?” as well as Bradley Sharpe’s “Mourning Gown” from his FW23 collection “Something in the Air”. Both can be purchased using your brand new crypto wallet on Decentraland.
While many of us are still new to the MVFW world, its existence is ever growing and its boundary-pushing nature is set to shake the industry as we know it to its core. As IoDF co-founder and creative director Cattytay puts it “There is a new model, a new system, just someone had to build it”. And now, we get to experience it.
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See: WILL A.I. FASHION KILL THE ROLE OF THE DESIGNER?
See: THE INSTITUTE OF DIGITAL FASHION BROUGHT THE URL TO THE OSCARS IRL
