In March 2022, Decentraland, a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain, launched the first Metaverse Fashion Week ,a digital fashion week where brands showcased theirs clothing collections in the metaverse. Decentraland hosted a series of runway shows, parties to purchase NFTs (non-fungible token), and digital clothing. Brands exhibited digital garments on avatars walking on virtual catwalks. The fashion week opened to everyone with an internet browser, simply logging into the browser-based platform Decentraland.

The second Metaverse Fashion Week kicked off on March 18 to 23, 2023, under the theme of “Future Heritage”, aiming to connect emerging digital designers with established traditional fashion institutions. The global event illuminates the connection between innovation and tradition and expose how contemporary fashion’s future lies in the digital realm. The heart of digital fashion hums inside Decentraland's Luxury District, developed by Metaverse Group, where global fashion brands display their virtual storefronts.

For this edition, in addition to Decentraland, brands can also display in the Spatial and Over metaverses. An advisory board of curators, such as the Institute of Digital Fashion (iODF) and The Fabricant, selected the participated designers. Miami Fashion Week, which is recognised by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, participates with runway shows and special activations held in the Luxury Fashion District. Among other companies that support the event’s infrastructure are decentralised commerce protocol Boson Protocol, DressX (the metacloset for digital clothing and fashion NFTs), and Phygicode, each offering different experiences, form exchanging NFTs with physical items to augmented reality, and hybrid solutions.

The official calendar includes brands such as Dolce&Gabbana, that presents an exhibition of the winning designs from its Future Reward competition spotlighting emerging talent and supports them with the creation of a new co-branded digital Wearables collection; and Tommy Hilfiger showcasing daily product drops, AI-generated fashion, unique collaborations and a community competition, with the winner hand-picked by Mr. Tommy Hilfiger himself. There are also Dear Vivienne, in honor of the late fashion icon Vivienne Westwood and MetaTokyo, an hub of designers influenced by the culture of Japan.

Great visibility is given to some of the most renowned digital fashion houses in the world. Dressx, the leading company in digital fashion and web3, presents the 3D fashion brands Blade Runway and Injury inside its flagship store in Decentraland, Phygicode launches “Phygicode Dress”, where Decentraland community creators re-imagine an iconic dress by renowned fashion designer and Phygicode member, Rubin Singer. The Fabricant brings two community creators to Mvfw: RuRingoM and Siki. The Fabricant also launches the brand's first custom Emote to celebrate the Wholeland collection in collaboration with Supermind Studios. Fashion Future Awards, the annual project initiated by Fashion Zoo, focuses on the pioneer forces in China's fashion and creative industries.

“This year we are incredibly honored to continue the legacy of Metaverse Fashion Week. We are seeing the return of many luxury fashion houses, and also the emergence and elevation of digitally native fashion. We are excited to see the world’s greatest fashion minds engaging in digital fashion and exploring what it can mean for their brands, and for their communities,” said Dr. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, Head of Metaverse Fashion Week at the Decentraland Foundation.


Metaverse Fashion Week
March 18 - 23, 2023
Metaverse
decentraland.org