Have you heard about the metaverse’s first-ever fashion week? Leading luxury brands and designers have showcased their designs while others set up their virtual stores in the luxury shopping district in Decentraland. The whole experience of virtual fashion week was a lot to take but was equal parts fun, excitement, and a glimpse into the future of fashion.
It has provided a start that many brands would have to follow in order to capture the digitally-savvy audience. Before you start your brand gears in the direction of digital fashion and virtual runways, here’s why your brand should target the futuristic fashion vision.
- An agile way of fashion is necessary for the changing demands and needs of the consumers.
- You can drive sales from online virtual spaces by connecting your website to the spaces.
- A huge digital presence in online universes like metaverse equals heavy sales in physical clothing.
You must be able to connect the dots between presence in the virtual worlds and your brand’s future. One way to get started is by letting charming virtual models walk the runways wearing your latest collections in digital fashion shows.
Wondering how to let your Designs grace the Digital Fashion show? Download our FREE guide below and you’ll have the answer for yourself.
Digital fashion shows were considered aspirational, future projects for many fashion brands. That is, until the pandemic hit the world. The industry heavily reliant on physical clothing and runways is now digitizing at a fast pace. Human models gracing the stage wearing fabulous collections have become old news in the fashion world. Virtual models and digital shows are becoming the new recipes for success in the trend-setting industry.
From this blog, you can explore more about the following:
- What is a Digital Fashion Show?
- Creation of a Virtual Fashion Show
- Benefits of a Digital Fashion Show
What is a Digital Fashion Show?
A digital fashion show is where virtual models walk on the runway featuring 3D rendered digital clothes. Fashion brands and tech companies are coming together to create digital garments and display them in customized virtual spaces. One stunning example of a virtual fashion show is Hanifa’s 3D digital fashion show.
Creation of a Virtual Fashion Show
Creating a digital fashion show is similar to that of a traditional one, but more work happens virtually on computers. Understanding the basic creation process of a virtual show will help your brand deliver a more refined, agile, and successful performance.
Step 1: Creation of a Virtual Space
The first step is to create the concept of a virtual space that includes the theme, background, and location of the runway. The virtual space can be a metaverse that is already created and established by others or your own branded space.
In the case of customized spaces, fashion and 3D designers can collaborate to create the perfect environment for your virtual runway. Using design software, designers can edit the location and color schemes to highlight every ruffle and fold of the virtual garments.
Step 2: 3D Virtual Prototyping of Designs
The next step in creating a virtual fashion show is for designers to start developing digital designs with the concept map. Since the designs are created digitally, your brand can either choose to digitalize your existing designs or the most popular way in recent times. It is to create designs with materials and textures that are simply not possible in the physical world. This brings a lot of creativity and imagination of your brand into the mix.
Also, 3D designers can alter the prototypes by trying out various embroidery patterns, materials, textures, and colors. The tech packs can be sent to the manufacturers once the designs are finalized.
Step 3: Developing the Virtual Models
To showcase your captivating designs in the digital fashion week, you would need virtual models that grace the runways. You can go for two options in this step: One is to collaborate with existing popular and predefined virtual influencers and models like Lil Miquela.
Or you should go for the second amazing option of creating your own branded virtual model with a 3D creative studio like us. With VSLB, you can create hyper-realistic virtual models that reflect your goals and aspirate for a futuristic digital presence. You can choose the gender, the body measurements, the color of skin, eyes, hair and we make a gorgeous model out of them. For instance, you can have a look yourself at Hauli, the virtual model we created for Ralph and Russo’s First Digital Haute Couture Collection.
Virtual models are also made based on the exact size measurements of the digital clothing. With advanced software, these models can be edited until the desired look is achieved.
Step 4: Creating 3D Animations
The 3D digital models are dressed up in digital garments to then create animations. 3D animations are trendy in the cyberspace and are well received by the audience. There are many excellent tools available on the internet that can create 3D animations efficiently. You can always contact us to lead you through the entire process.
Step 5: Finalizing Everything
To complete the runway show, final edits are done. A final runway is where virtual models on fantastic digital clothes awe the audience with their remarkable catwalk. After that, the digital fashion show featuring your latest collections commences.
If you want to stay connected with your audience in the digital world, download our FREE digital fashion guide to get started!
Benefits of a Digital Fashion Show
Widened Reach
Before social distancing, the high-end audiences filled the front rows in traditional fashion weeks like Milan Fashion Week. However, this is changing as digital architecture is steadily integrating with the industry. Through virtual runway shows, anyone can have a glimpse of the latest collections from the brands. Also, combining with an e-commerce interface helps the global audience to shop simultaneously.
Beyond Reality
3D rendering, virtual and augmented reality help designers dig deeper into their creativity to bring phenomenal visuals. Designs beyond physical reality are possible to create for digital shows. Every fragment of imagination and vision of the fashion world comes to existence through Virtual Spaces. Digital fashion shows defy and go beyond reality, captivating the consumers.
Cost Reduction
A show at New York Fashion Week costs about $125,000. This includes lighting, sound, rent, models fee, and set designs. Virtual Spaces come with all these elements at a minimum cost. Also, digital fashion shows come with the extra advantage of adding last-minute changes. A few clicks for any changes will gloss up the show more than ever.
Eco-friendly Approach
According to the UN Alliance, the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions. Most of the clothing accumulates in landfills, polluting both land and water. Digital events and virtual models in the fashion industry lower carbon footprint and prevent heavy pollution.
Data Targeting
As virtual fashion shows are accessible to everyone, fashion brands like yours can benefit from vast data input. You can get insights into customer expectations, trends, values, and possibly new ideas for their next collections. Also, pairing the digital show with social media helps your brand to interact and engage with your target audience.
No Runway Fails
Runway accidents are impossible to prevent, and there are times models can trip. This might sometimes disrupt the flow of the fashion show and sometimes prove detrimental to the model. However, there is a zero chance for runway fails to occur in a virtual show as the audience enjoys a flawless presentation.
The Future of Fashion Industry: Digital Collections and Virtual Models
The digital revolution in the fashion industry has just begun. Runways are getting a digital makeover, and virtual models are replacing humans. As a result, physical shows might become obsolete soon, with brands having to align their collections with digital fashion shows strategically.
The key conclusion here for you is to start channeling your efforts into creating your first ever digital presence in the virtual world. For a headstart, you can download our FREE Digital fashion guide below!
