November 1, 2022
Parsons and Roblox partner to educate about fashion and digital trends
The concept of the metaverse has been around for almost 20 years, though the public only really started to engage with what it has to offer in recent years thanks to popular platforms and tech companies like Roblox.
Now, the metaverse is going to get a little more fashionable thanks to a multi-faceted partnership between Parsons School of Design and Roblox that includes a collaborative course in which students will create hyper-realistic and inclusive 3D digital garments. The partnership also includes the 2022 Metaverse Fashion Trends report, which highlights the importance of self-expression through digital identity and avatar style for Gen Zers who have grown up socializing on platforms like Roblox.
“Partnering with Roblox offers Parsons students working in creative technologies an exciting opportunity to engage in the complex intersection of visual culture and social fabric, and to play with the way we create meaning when we dress, in worlds digital and physical,” says Shana Agid, PhD, Dean of the School of Media Art and Technology at Parsons School of Design. “We are excited to see how students’ diverse experiential knowledge, along with their research, critical thinking, and digital and visual design skills, shape the future of these spaces.”
Parsons faculty members are leading the development of The New School’s next wave of fashion design with experts in creativity, education, and marketing on Roblox. The course will be available to Parsons students during the spring 2023 semester and will equip students with the training and tools to prepare for the changing media and self-expression of the future.
In the collaborative, production-driven 16-week course, students and faculty will begin to explore the intricate relationship between digital and physical fashion in an immersive future. The curriculum focuses on research and prototyping of digital and physical fashion for immersive environments, including proof-of-concept prototypes that students will create in Roblox.
Students will learn how to apply the latest technologies to create inclusive, hyper-realistic 3D digital garments that fit any body type, and will have the opportunity to work with experienced fashion designers from the Parsons and Roblox communities to further the experimental nature of clothing. digital fashion for our future presence. Ultimately, students will be able to create a retail experience with their physical and digital clothing and accessories at Parsons and the Roblox Avatar Marketplace.
In addition to the new course, Parsons and Roblox have also released the 2022 Metaverse Fashion Trends report, which provides timely research and analysis of trends in digital fashion and self-expression among Gen Z consumers active on Roblox. Combining a wealth of behavioral data from the Roblox platform and survey responses from 1,000 Gen Z respondents living in the US*, the report offers an in-depth look at the consumer preferences of those who they are familiar with self-expression through digital identity and fashion.
“Gen Z consumers are spending more time in immersive social spaces like Roblox, where they have expressed themselves through their creations and digital style preferences for more than a decade,” says Christina Wootton, Roblox’s vice president of global partnerships. “With its growing economic power and influence on fashion, trends from the metaverse are expected to have a profound impact on physical fashion, while trends from the physical world will also continue to move into the metaverse. The data obtained for this report further underscores why the next generation of fashion designers and brands will be taking a deep dive into digital fashion – designing digital collections and wearing avatars.”
“Collaborating on this research with Roblox has made it even clearer that self-expression through digital fashion is important for digital natives and Generation Z,” says Ben Barry, PhD, Dean and Associate Professor of Equity and Inclusion at the Parsons School of Fashion. . “Designers of the future will need to create in 3D and push the limits of creativity with exclusive clothing, accessories and collections from the metaverse that can be made available at the speed of light to millions of consumers around the world, on platforms like Roblox. As we prepare the next generation of fashion designers for their careers, we look forward to a future where this creative profession is accessible to all through the latest technology and creator innovation.”
A virtual panel hosted by Roblox and Parsons School of Design on November 2, 2022, starting at 9:30am PT/12:30pm. ”. RSVP here to hear expert opinions on the research and what’s to come in digital fashion.
key ideas of the Metaverse Fashion Trends 2022 report include:
With Gen Z spending more time socializing, creating and expressing themselves in immersive social spaces, the demand for digital fashion, its widespread impact and, consequently, its prestige are increasing.Half of respondents say they are changing their avatar’s clothing at least every week, and during 2 in 5 self-expression (through clothing and accessories in the digital world) is already MORE important than expressing yourself in the physical world. Just like in the physical world, community members on platforms like Roblox tends to Connect and react to others based on their appearance and clothing.which can have a profound impact on their self-confidence and relationships.Nearly 3 in 4 say they will spend money on digital fashionY two-thirds are excited to use branded virtual items on their Roblox avatars.Respondents note the importance of having various customization options for their vicissitudes, and the vast majority also agree with the importance of digital clothing designs being inclusiveThe full report’s findings also look at the hottest metaverse fashion styles and top-selling clothing categories, what Gen Z consumers’ virtual closets and digital fashion budgets look like, and more. Download the 2022 Metaverse Fashion Trends report here.
*Methodology: To obtain the latest consumer insight data, Roblox, in collaboration with the Parsons School of Design, commissioned a survey of 1,000 Americans from Momentive (creators of the SurveyMonkey platform) conducted September 19-21, 2022. 14 to 24, living in the United States. The sample has been balanced by gender using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the US population in that age range.
Source: news.google.com