How the Fashion Industry is preparing for the Metaverse

After Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook to “Meta” and signalled the company’s intention to enter the Metaverse, many companies jumped on the bandwagon. Some fashion labels may wonder whether they have any future at all in the metaverse. But it is well worth looking into the issue. The current trends in retail, fashion and apparel are just perfect for the Metaverse.

What is the metaverse?
Metaverse is a (now no longer) new term that everyone’s talking about and which yet for many is still a closed book. The term “metaverse” first appeared in Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash” in 1992. It is a new form of internet in which virtual avatars can interact with each other via online environments. This is exactly what Zuckerberg hinted at when he announced the renaming of the social media giant. However, the Metaverse itself has been in development for some time. For several years, cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiasts have been working hard to develop web 3.0 applications and technologies to make the metaverse a reality. Essentially, it is a set of decentralised and interoperable applications that allow users to move seamlessly between platforms using their digital identities. The boundaries between the physical and the digital are blurring, creating an entirely new world of experience. From meeting friends to viewing virtual art galleries and concerts to working or shopping in the metaverse … the possibilities are almost unlimited. The idea of metaverse itself will surprise no one. After all, we already spend an increasingly large part of our lives online.

NFT technology against product counterfeiting
To understand how well suited the fashion industry is to the metaverse, one must first know what NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are. NFTs are digital assets that contain unique metadata to prove authenticity and provenance. There are countless possible applications, but for the sake of simplicity let’s limit ourselves to the areas of fashion and clothing. Fashion brands have long struggled with counterfeiting. NFTs therefore offer an excellent opportunity to reduce this problem. Since NFTs are stored in the blockchain – an immutable log – and contain metadata showing who the actual owner of the item is, it is very easy to authenticate products. This makes it much easier to prevent product counterfeiting. The concept is not new in the fashion industry either. In 2019, LVMH – the owner of Louis Vuitton – tested blockchain technology to prove the authenticity of high-end goods. Recently, Gucci teamed up with auction house Christie’s to present its first NFT, while Nike has signed up another brand to enter the crypto and metaverse spheres. Many retailers and fashion brands are embracing the metaverse, and for good reason. It offers them a multitude of entrepreneurial opportunities. This is especially true when considering that online identities are a central concept of the metaverse.

New opportunities for social commerce
Several trends show that the entry of fashion brands into the metaverse was almost predestined. A popular trend is social commerce, in which retailers (often together with an influencer) get in touch with users via live stream and present their latest products. Social commerce has proven to be extremely profitable. Consequently, many companies have tried to take advantage of this, e.g. by using artificial intelligence (AI) to support digital try-ons. Sales figures for products using 3D visualisation in augmented reality (AR) have increased significantly. Social commerce clearly shows how fast the world of fashion and retail is shifting to online channels. Other retailers are also using Mixed Reality (MR) to engage their customers and train sales staff in novel ways. Mixed reality also blends the physical and digital worlds, creating new environments for people to move around in. Visitors enter the MR room, can interact with the professional staff and even try on items or have conversations.

Conclusion: The future of the fashion industry lies in the metaverse
Sooner or later, the fashion industry will move into the metaverse. After all, retailers are already reaching more and more of their customers through online channels, and this trend will not be reversed. As NFTs become more widespread, it stands to reason that virtual clothing is the next logical step in this phase of development. But more significantly, given that MR is being used to create new shopping experiences for consumers, why would retailers fail to leverage the metaverse in the same way? It’s really only a matter of time.

Source: K3