On the Ground at Metaverse Fashion Week

On Apr 20, 2023

The magnificent Decentraland virtual world recently held its second annual Metaverse Fashion Week, so we sent in our resident expert, Lina, to get the lowdown on the best, brightest and most magnificent experiences at the event.

So Without Further Ado…

The second Metaverse Fashion Week presented 60+ brands, artists, and designers during a 4-day feast. Decentraland Metaverse Fashion Week already created quite a buzz last year, and the second time around it gathered Metaverse creators and big store brands together with point to prove – Metaverse fashion week is something really to look forward to. However, within four days of fashion shows, presentations, and afterparties, fashion week really left me torn – on the one hand, the future of fashion is happening now, still, on the other, the experience was average. I was lucky to live in Europe, so I got to experience part of the fashion week without the platform crashing every few minutes because of the time difference from the main audience. But, it got worse when the parties and all the fun gatherings took place.

The Creators

Last year, it felt like Decentraland was more focused on big brands, but this year, creators were really at the center of all things fashion. I walked around the main area of the fashion week where – Doki, Haus of Fuego, and CK Bubbles – community members deeply invested in growing the platform were showcasing their work in the same big buildings as DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, and Coach.

My biggest attention was on a show that occurred on all four days – a repeating performance by 10 Decentraland-based designers led by Nikki Fuego.

“I produced my runway show this year featuring ten designers and 30 avatars. It took me a few months to build and texture the stage. This was one of the first times I’ve used AI in my creative workflow. I am not an illustrator, so sometimes it is really difficult for me to concept ideas from scratch, so I used Midjourney to bring to life my idea of a futuristic, Athens-inspired outdoor runway. I wanted visitors to feel like the environment was familiar but also new, and I’m heavily inspired by Athens architecture as it reads regal and powerful with the constant nods they have to mythic gods/goddesses. It took a few hours of throwing in different prompts of what I envisioned, and Midjourney helped me find a great starting ground. As an artist, I feel I have evolved through this new process. AI-enhanced me rather than replaced me, and I am extremely proud that I could evolve in this way, as it will impact the work I do forever, ” said Nikki Fuego.

My day 1 Metaverse homie @DOCTORdrippNFT showcasing his new mythic items that SOLD OUT yesterday! Luckily you can find this on the secondary market! @decentraland #MVFW23 @NikkiFuego92 Haus of Fuego Realm ! https://t.co/paYlBbIhub pic.twitter.com/RCQknBBNHt
— CJ TRAX & DJ T-RAX (@DJTRAXNFT) March 29, 2023

The technical difficulties also affected the creators themselves. “There were indeed severe platform instability issues on day 1 of Fashion Week. I knew going into this that anything could happen at any moment and to be ready. The moment I couldn’t watch my show, I began to pivot, and ended deploying the scene to a private server. I upgraded that server with Atlas Corp, and this allowed me to not only isolate my scene from the surrounding scenes causing the loading crashes but also showcase the perfect use case for DCL Worlds”, Nikki continued.

Neo Plaza showcased more community creators. I enjoyed visiting CK Bubbles build, where they exhibited their work and inspiration and had a visual presentation throughout on the history of nail art. One of my favorite creators in the space, Doki, created a beauty salon where she displayed her work – Decentraland avatar faces and hair that you can buy.

The Brands

At the Neo Plaza luxury American fashion house, Coach, specializing in leather handbags, luggage, and accessories, made an impressive virtual build in Decentraland too. The brand literally built its iconic Tabby bag. The pink setting invited people to stand under the Tabby bag and get teleported into the world of Coach. In addition, people were able to claim a free emote there and participate in a scavenger hunt.

Adidas took a simpler approach – a triangle-shaped glass store showcased Adidas‘ iconic looks, with the cherry on top – a free Adidas wearable NFT, a red logo puffer jacket with a face mask.

The Luxury District hosted brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce&Gabbana, Dundas, DKNY, and others. Most of the brands offered freebie NFTs with their branding or special emotes.

Most brands collaborated with Decentraland creators to build their fashion week experiences, but not much information is available on the official sources.

Community Voice

“MVFW has been an amazing opportunity for designers to showcase their work, and especially for the community within Decentraland to be able to display their work alongside some of the pioneers and major fashion brands that have made their way into this digital space. Some of my favorite pieces this fashion week came from within this community. They really showed up bringing all their creativity forward, and I feel like we all put our hearts on the table this year.” – Soultry Dubs

“MVFW23 felt more intimate this year, as more cross-collaborations existed between large luxury brands and the Decentraland Community. I was overjoyed to see many brands make the best of their experience and make those connections with the core community (Twitter Spaces, brand sponsorships at parties). The number of wearables that were given out was overwhelming, which allowed for so much new swag in our wallets. MVFW23 was an absolute success this year!” – Maryana

“Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week 2023 (MVFW23) event has been such a delightful 3D virtual world celebration – where I experienced an explosion of creativity, designs, and self-expression from a diverse group of people and brands who are excited to be at the forefront of digital fashion innovation. I am super honored to create the Gabber Time dance emote with the Fabricant, as well as have the opportunity to showcase my designs and collaborations in MetaTokyo at my Supermind calming moon hot springs exhibit.” – SUPERNINA

“This year’s fashion week has been jammed packed with friends, fun (par-teas), and activi-teas. I love that some of our prominent community members have been in the spotlight this year.” – BillyTeacoin

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