Crazy-looking shoes and flaming jackets are receiving lots of hype from virtual-only fashion companies.
Some brands already joined this (Nike even bought a virtual sneakers company #rtfkt), so they can brag about joining the “Metaverse”.
This is NOT digital fashion,
This is DIGITAL ART.
The way I see it, the goal of virtual fashion assets is to add REAL value to the brands.
Creating digital twin assets of actual footwear or clothes is not an easy process. You must be skilled and understand how the
actual product is made, address its actual real-life limitations and production processes, and then use tools that transform that into the virtual world.
The real need will be to create PHYGITAL (Physical + Digital) assets – which will add real VALUE to the physical assets.
Here are several ways this could be done:
1. Digital Twins: Creating digital twins of actual fashion items
a. Pre-Sales Engagement: Creating a more immersive and engaging online experience will lead to raising add-to-cart conversions, lowering returns, and strengthening the brand.
b. Marketing: Promoting in many platforms, applications, and try-ons, while making sure the design is exact or based very close to the actual physical product.
An interesting project (which I was happy to assist and work on ) launched last week by high-end fashion brand #kaiminhttps://lnkd.in/eydpJ6Em.
Kaimin created #virtual garments for #tryons and #NFTs, that are based on actual clothes which Kaimin creates for artists such as Beyonce, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj.
These are not sold to regular consumers, but by creating the virtual assets, consumers can try on and see what the actual garments would look like (if they could afford it… or perform 😊).
2. Production:
Using specific digital tools (#Vsticher, #Marvelous, etc) to speed up and lower the costs of actual fashion production while making it more sustainable.
3. AR - Adding virtual “layers” to physical products.
For example, using #AR on top of the physical products, showing additional information about it such as production processes, where it was made, highlighting specific areas, making parts of it transparent to see hidden parts (inside sole), etc.
All of these will enable brands to understand more about how their products are experienced, and help them create better, more engaging products and experiences for the consumers, physically and virtually.