At MERCURY DASHA we are excited about digital fashion.
But what is digital fashion?
Well, digital fashion, in broad terms, speaks of the way augmented and virtual reality creates new experiences for consumers and new methods of presenting and creating fashion for brands.
Digital fashion, therefore, in its broadest sense, speaks of the way new technology has affected and influenced fashion design, creation, presentation and marketing.
As digital fashion is still very new, in the fashion industry we are just beginning to understand its applications, which are many, but in this post, we will explore what digital fashion offers the fashion lover and what it could be as it continues to evolve…
Digital fashion at its heart is fashion that is offered in digital format - which in layman’s terms means you, as a consumer, will not get a physical item when you buy the digital product.
You will receive a digital file - which could be the design itself, which you can keep as a collectable item, like a piece of art. Or, more commonly at the moment in the world of fashion, you will receive a picture of yourself ‘wearing’ the digital item.
'Wearing', in this case, because you will never actually touch or physically wear the item but the item will be modelled to a picture of your choice which will provide you with a digital image of you wearing the photo.
The item will allow you to sample and experience the design, often created in ways that surpass the limits of physical garment creation, and enter you into a world where you can be a different version of yourself in the digital world.
There are some brands that produce digital-only clothing. The ways in which the garments are constructed and even the digital fabrics they use, are not easy to reproduce in physical reality - and, indeed, this is often the attraction of digital garments, because they allow play and dress up in ways that are theatrical or fantastical.
But digital fashion does not have to only be about cos-play and role-play. MERCURY DASHA envisions digital fashion to be a way of making luxury fashion more accessible by allowing people who don’t have the budget for a physical purchase to experience an item.
It allows ‘real world’ designs to be translated into the #ootd culture we live in, without the damaging effects of fast-fashion methods.
Now, it is completely possible to shop frivolously as well as responsibly with the same brand, just by deciding whether you will buy digital or physical. And if you like the digital version, then of course, you can buy the physical version knowing it looks good and you will actually wear it!
In the future, there are many more applications for digital fashion that are not fully developed yet ... but imagine the possibilities!
The world is fast evolving into one where the virtual one, the Metaverse, will exist alongside, and might be just as important, as the real world. And in that world, we will need a wardrobe - and that wardrobe will be digital.
In the every-growing world of gaming too, we have characters or avatars that we may want to personalise with shopped-for digital garments - imagine creating your dream wardrobe in virtual reality, crammed with collectible, beautiful pieces for every part of your virtual life .. and, better still, you can go crazy ... knowing you are not adding to over-consumption and environmental damage.
And with companies like Facebook engaged in creating that virtual reality as part of our everyday social interactions, we will be in that new reality sooner than we think … and we will be needing something to wear to the party.
Watch this space!
