Paris Fashion Week 2022 consisted of 64 shows and 42 presentations, many of which showcased the future of fashion. From the sprayed dress worn by supermodel Bella Hadid at the Coperni show to fresh upcycled looks consisting of recycled garments, Paris Fashion Week brilliantly highlighted the trends for the coming seasons.
While most Fashion Week attendees and designers celebrated the physical elements, such as in-person fashion shows and tangible designs, a handful of creators incorporated Web3 features to demonstrate the enormous digital potential of fashion. fashion.
Web3 democratizes fashion
To clarify this, Victor Weinsanto, a French designer who launched his brand in 2020 after spending two years working with the famous Jean Paul Gaultier, told Cointelegraph that virtual worlds allow creators to design without having to use real fabrics and materials. . “In a sense, this ensures sustainability, although a lot of energy and time is spent creating such collections,” he said.
Weinsanto revealed his first digital collection, M3talove, right after his fashion show that took place in the Marais district of Paris on September 26. Unlike traditional fashion week experiences, the M3talove collection was displayed as 3D holograms within a series of display cases housed in a dark room, equipped with bright lights and a DJ. Such a scenario seemed fitting, as the collection was a collaboration between Weinsanto and K-pop girl band Lightsum.
The “M3talove” collection by Weinsanto and BNV. Source: BNV
Richard Hobbs, founder and COO of Brand New Vision (BNV), the Web3 platform behind M3talove, told Cointelegraph that the idea for this collection was inspired by the possibilities of merging K-pop culture with fashion.
“This was a collaborative experience, with Victor presenting his concepts to each of the eight Lightsum members, who then gave their feedback and suggestions before BNV turned the sketches into digital outfits, along with individual custom avatars for all eight girls.” .
Weinsanto added that the M3talove collection was one of the best ways to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to showcase a collaboration between music, the Metaverse, and fashion. He “wanted a collection that could be worn but still had details that would be impossible to incorporate in real life.”
Going beyond realistic concepts is, in fact, one of the most important features offered by the Web3 craze. Hobbs commented that M3talove is a fully digital collection, noting that this allows for more imaginative concepts, along with sustainability.
“BNV’s business is digital fashion. If people can use more virtual products and express themselves in that world while consuming less in the real world, that’s probably a good thing,” he said. Hobbs makes an important point, as it was previously reported that a typical New York Fashion Week emits up to 48,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
French luxury fashion house Balmain also showed off its Web3 presence at Paris Fashion Week this year. Balmain introduced “Balmain Thread” which is the brand’s Web3 hub powered by XRP Ledger that is designed to unite its community with NFT projects. Balmain Marketing Director Txampi Diz told Cointelegraph that Olivier Rousteing, who has been the creative director of the house since 2011, along with the entire Balmain team, have become acutely aware of the need to democratize fashion. According to Diz, this led to the creation of the Balmain Thread. He said:
“We are emphasizing the need to open fashion, democratizing a previously closed universe. We knew we had to present Balmain Thread during our annual Balmain Festival, which is a celebration that combines our runway show for Paris Fashion Week with a one-of-a-kind live concert streamed live on Balmain.com. ”.
Crowds gathered at Balmain’s “Mint The Moment” during Paris Fashion Week. Source: Balmain
Diz explained that Balmain Festival attendees were presented with the opportunity to join the Balmain Thread community when they received their tickets. She added that those who streamed the festival live received links to join on Balmain.com. “And all festival night attendees were invited to join in by launching ‘The Moment’, which is a mobile photo experience app powered by MintNFT that allows attendees to transform their favorite Balmain Festival fashion moment into your own unique moment. NFT”.
While innovative, Diz noted that the ultimate goal behind the Balmain Thread is to ensure new forms of communication with the brand’s followers and open access to those who haven’t been involved with Paris Fashion Week before. He elaborated:
“Inclusion is a keyword in fashion as we all know that the old vision of exclusivity and gated experiences is simply not feasible for the new generation of fashionistas. Web3 is one of many exciting new tools that allow us to open up our world to those who want to get in.”
While this concept is catching on at big-name fashion houses like Balmain, emerging brands are also embracing Web3 experiences to provide greater accessibility for consumers and creators alike.
For example, Paris-based fashion company Faith Connexion highlighted its Web3 platform, Faith Tribe, during this year’s fashion week. Maria Buccellati, co-owner and co-founder of Faith Connexion, told Cointelegraph that Faith Tribe is an incubator for Faith Connexion that allows independent creators to design and customize trendy digital and physical assets that can then be minted into NFTs. Bucellati said:
“We had a showroom at Paris Fashion Week this year to showcase some of the collaborative names and labels that are part of the Faith Tribe. This makes Faith Connexion an inclusive brand, which is different from major players like LVMH. We’re leveraging Web3 to put the power back in the hands of creators.”
To put this in perspective, Buccellati shared that Faith Connexion announced during Paris Fashion Week that Gavin Magnus, a 15-year-old pop star and social media influencer, will be partnering with the brand to create an NFT line.
Wahid Chammas, co-owner of Faith Connexion, further told Cointelegraph that Faith Connexion is already working with hundreds of new designers to provide them with tools like virtual studios, IP registries, and NFT minting capabilities to expand their presence.
Unlike BNV, which focuses strictly on digital collections, Chammas explained that Faith Connexion emphasizes the physical production associated with digital twins. “We believe any designer will be able to create and curate for us under their own brand, while enabling NFT tags to ensure consumers have digital ownership,” he said. The idea behind NFT for physical skins will also allow the creators of the Faith Connexion to have wearable devices in Metaverse environments that can be used to wear avatars.
Web3 will evolve within the fashion industry
Although Web3 has great potential to expand the reach of the fashion industry, the fact is that very few brands and designers are incorporating these elements. While this was evident at Paris Fashion Week this year, innovative designers like Weinsanto are hopeful that Web3 concepts will catch on.
Image from Weinsanto’s opening night showcasing the M3talove collection. Source: Alek Katar
“I think the Metaverse is not yet well known to designers, but soon everyone will want to create collections in the Metaverse, as it is thought-provoking and exciting, but also easily accessible,” he said.
Diz added that it is inevitable that more and more fashion houses will follow Balmain into the Web3 space as it democratizes the industry. However, he noted that education remains a key challenge, which is why Balmain Thread set out to make the process of joining their community as easy as possible. He said:
“We made it clear that those who joined the Balmain Thread community would never need to master any of the complex workings of cryptocurrencies or blockchains in order to creatively interact with the house: all memberships were minted on the XRP Ledger, while MintNFT ensured security by proving authenticity through its video verification technology.”
Although Balmain decided to go this route, some industry insiders believe that educating designers and creators at major events like Paris Fashion Week is critical. For example, Enara Nazarova, metaverse vice president at Hype, an agency that helps brands get started in the Metaverse, told Cointelegraph that Hype hosted its second digital fashion soiree at Paris Fashion Week to educate consumers. wizards on Web3:
“Inspired by the success of our evening at New York Fashion Week, we gathered at the top of the Pompidou Center, where we welcomed leading builders into the Web3 space to discuss what’s next for the fashion industry. fashion”.
While Nazarova believes that Web3 has advanced within the crypto space, she noted that education, along with user onboarding, is key to driving adoption. Although this is happening slowly, she is confident that Web3 will have a greater presence at major fashion events in the future.
“Web2 brands cannot ignore the power of digital fashion to connect with millions of consumers through virtual products. However, the transition from Web2 to Web3 is not a one-size-fits-all solution, so businesses need to embrace experimentation. I think the opportunities for fashion to take advantage of the Web3 infrastructure are just beginning to emerge.”
Source: news.google.com