Digital company The Fabricant sold a digital dress for $9,500
Digital company The Fabricant sold a digital dress for $9,500
Digital company The Fabricant sold a digital dress for $9,500
Digital company The Fabricant sold a digital dress for $9,500

Metaverse style: the fashion houses vying to dress your online avatar


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Virtual clothes have come a long way since the red sneakers worn by Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1991 game. A new generation will soon live virtual lives in the gaming metaverse – a collective virtual shared space – where they play, hang out with friends, wander around and, increasingly, dress up in designer wear.

While the concept may sound baffling to anyone born before 1996, for Gen Z (those born between 1996-2012) and Gen Alpha (those born post-2012) it is second nature. Having grown up with smartphones, Snapchat and Instagram, the metaverse offers a way to connect to anyone, anywhere and it's where creativity and individuality can be freely expressed.

With an estimated 2.5 billion gamers, who spent a collective $100 billion on virtual goods pre-pandemic, it is no wonder companies are keen to be involved.

Hailed as the successor to the internet, the metaverse is an entirely digital space, inhabited by digital avatars, that many see as becoming the platform of choice in the very near future. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is focused on helping “bring the metaverse to life,” explaining that “in many ways, the metaverse is the ultimate expression of social technology”.

The latest issue of Vogue Singapore is dedicated entirely to this new world and has called on designers to create unique pieces inspired by the online world.

Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing, for example, created a Fire Dress that wraps the wearer in digital flames.

This weekend, Dolce & Gabbana’s couture NFT (non-fungible token) collection will be released. The fashion house is to reveal its high jewellery and haute couture collections for men and women (Alta Gioielleria, Alto Sartoria and Alto Moda respectively) in Venice, and it will also unwrap its first-ever NFT collection called Collezione Genesi. Comprising nine pieces, four will be entirely digital, while the remaining five – two dresses, a man’s suit and two crowns – will have both physical and digital iterations.

Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, celebrated the 200th birthday of its namesake founder by launching its second game (the first was a retro-style game by Virgil Abloh in 2019), while Gucci released virtual sneakers in March this year, allowing users to don neon Gucci-branded sneakers on social media only, for between $9 and $12 a pop.

Meanwhile, a digital version of Gucci's Dionysus bag was recently sold on the Roblox gaming site for $4,115, which is more than the price of a physical version.

Gucci digital sneakers that cost between $9 and $12 each
Gucci digital sneakers that cost between $9 and $12 each

Then there is Drest, the virtual styling game launched in December 2019 by ex-Harper's Bazaar UK editor Lucy Yeomans.

The game lets users style a runway show and dress avatars of supermodels such as Imaan Hammam and Natalia Vodianova for fashion shoots. The outfits are judged by other gamers, with successful looks earning currency to purchase more looks. Gamers can buy looks from the likes of Gucci, Moschino, Off-White, Loewe and Chloe.

The virtual styling game Drest lets users style a runway show and dress avatars of supermodels for fashion shoots
The virtual styling game Drest lets users style a runway show and dress avatars of supermodels for fashion shoots

In 2019, Dutch start-up The Fabricant auctioned a digital dress for $9,500. Called Iridescence, it was then "tailored" to fit the new owner based on photographs, giving a version that could be added to online and social media.

More recently, the game Decentraland opened up to allow users to make and sell their own clothing, sparking a rush of new and unusual clothes on sale. One user, Hiroto Kai, offered digital kimono-inspired coats for $140 each, and made an estimated $20,000 in three weeks.

Now, a UK start-up called Auroboros has launched what it dubs a "biomimicry digital collection", that allows users to ‘"buy looks to wear on Snapchat. Buyers submit an image of themselves, on to which high-quality sci-fi fantasy digital wear is added. This image can then be uploaded to Snapchat via a filter.

Touting itself as a digital solution to fast fashion, founder Paula Sello explained that the company offers a more ethical way to have an ever-changing wardrobe.

"We need to have the shift now in fashion. The industry simply cannot continue," she said.

As a sign of the seriousness with which the fashion industry is taking virtual designs, Auroboros is also part of London Fashion Week.

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

How to help

Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.

Account name: Dar Al Ber Society

Account Number: 11 530 734

IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734

Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Grubtech

Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi

Launched: October 2019

Employees: 50

Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)

 

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Updated: August 30, 2021, 10:47 AM`