I Attended the First Metaverse Fashion Week and These Are My Thoughts

What is the metaverse and what does a metaverse fashion week look like?

From March 24-27th I attended the first ever metaverse fashion week. If you’re like me and your time spent online mostly consists of watching TikToks, you might not know what the metaverse is. Put simply, “the metaverse refers to digital worlds in which people will gather to work, play and hang out.” These virtual worlds offer everything from socializing to shopping, making the metaverse the perfect place to host a fashion week.

The 3D virtual world platform Decentraland proudly hosted Metaverse Fashion Week. This four day event was open to the public and free to attend. Brands and investors paid for digital land in the Decentraland world and hosted fashion events. The MVFW lineup included fashion shows, panels, and even the ability to buy outfits for your avatar in the form of NFTs. Numerous big names in the fashion world took part in MVFW, including Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana.

The events I attended:

An exciting aspect of a metaverse fashion week is the ability to enter any fashion event regardless of your status, connections, wealth, or job. To kick off my experience at MVFW, I began at the Cash Labs Gallery.

Cash Labs Gallery

This gallery happened to be the perfect starting point. Upon entering the virtual gallery, I noticed a note from curator David Cash posted on the wall which perfectly explained the significance of a virtual fashion week. A portion of that note reads, “So in today’s gallery, I hope to present you with nearly every format in which fashion can be presented: photography, video, 3D renderings (both still and in motion), 3D objects presented as sculptures (both still and in motion), AR experiences, Mixed Reality experiences, [and] retail experiences...” A virtual fashion week allows for fashion to be enjoyed in all these formats. I wandered around the Fashion Sculpture Garden on the first floor of the gallery, taking it all in. It was fun consuming fashion in such a nontraditional way, and I found myself admiring not only the clothing designs, but the detailed virtual landscape as well.

AMIAYA x STREET

The AMIAYA x STREET event was held in a part of Decentraland called MetaTokyo, a space created to celebrate Japanese creators and the Japanese community. The event included a combination of avatar models and photographs of real-life models. This juxtaposition of the digital world to the real world made for a unique fashion exhibition.

Forever 21

It was very cool to see such a big company present at the first MVFW. Forever 21 did not come to play, going all out with their metaverse event. The main room contained mannequins sporting clothing you could purchase for your avatar. Walk through a back portal and you ended up in a Forever 21 party room. No invite needed, and your name did not have to be on some list to enter. At this party people mingled, chatted about fashion, and engaged in general small talk. It was fascinating to see how the virtual community interacts.

Estée Lauder event

This event consisted of a giant Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum floating in the sky. It was bizarre, but in the best way possible. Users could click on the giant serum to purchase a special sparkle “filter” for their avatars. Only in the metaverse can a giant skincare product float in the sky as part of a fashion week event.

What I liked

Having a fashion week take place in the metaverse makes runway and fashion week accessible to everyone. You did not even have to pay to enter Decentraland and enjoy MVFW. While some fashion brands thrive on exclusivity, making fashion shows and events accessible to everyone allows for more people to interact with a brand and become fans and customers.

Observing the sense of community formed in the metaverse was also a cool experience. The chat feature was well utilized during MVFW. When attending a panel, one user typed “I’m too shy to attend something like this IRL.” This comment was followed by a flood of agreement and messages about feeling more comfortable with an online format. Not only were these

individuals forming a sense of community, but also showing how a fashion week held in the metaverse can attract a group of people who would otherwise not enjoy fashion week.
Lastly, it was exciting to experience something so new and revolutionary. People are just starting to become familiar with the metaverse, and this MVFW was the first of its kind.

What I didn’t like

As someone who has never even played Sims before, this virtual world was hard for me to navigate. It took me three days to figure out how to somewhat adapt to the metaverse and learn to move my avatar from event to event. Having a video tutorial explaining the basics for those of us who don’t typically venture into the metaverse would have been helpful. There were several panels and events I wanted to attend but could not for the life of me figure out how to find them. At times the fashion week felt more frustrating than fun. That might just be a “me” problem, however, as I am not very tech-savvy.

All in all, MVFW allowed me to consume fashion in a new and interesting way, and it was exciting to witness something so cutting edge. The first fashion week I attended did not take place in New York or Paris or Milan or anywhere you can find on a map. It took place in the metaverse.