NEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Metaverse - The virtual social world Decentraland announced today that it is hosting the world’s biggest, entirely digital, fashion week with the launch of Metaverse Fashion Week, to take place March 24 - 27, 2022. As an established hotbed of digital, wearable design, Decentraland will host four days of runway shows, fashion experiences, pop-up shops, and afterparties, featuring some of the most renowned names in the global fashion world.
“Fashion and haute couture are not new to the metaverse,” says Decentraland Foundation’s Creative Director, Sam Hamilton. “Decentraland has been on the cutting edge of rare and in-demand digital fashion since the launch of avatar wearables in 2020. Since that time, creators have been pushing both the technical and stylistic limits of Decentraland wearables, and have created a booming economy with over $1 million in sales of avatar wearables last year.”
Metaverse Fashion Week, a tour-de-force of houses, brands, designers, and fashion devotees will gather around multiple catwalks in Decentraland’s newest district, the ‘Luxury Fashion District,’ presented by UNXD and Vogue Arabia, to experience fashion’s hottest and most iconic brands make their Web3 debut:
- The quintessential London retailer, Selfridges, officially kicks off Fashion Week on March 23 with the inauguration of its flagship metaverse store. The launch features an immersive experience with Paco Rabanne + Victor Vasarely.
- At the center of MVFW is a futuristic runway hosting daily shows by iconic fashion houses, such as Dolce&Gabbana, Dundas, and Etro, and more of the world’s most renowned luxury brands; as well as digital fashion brands like The Fabricant, new designers making their digital wearables debut at MVFW like Kid Super, and NFT superstar FEWOCiOUS. Collaborations between The Vogu x Hype and Sophia the Robot will also offer a glimpse into the future of A.I. fashion.
- The runway is surrounded by a luxury shopping area inspired by the architecture at Avenue Montaigne in Paris. It houses metaverse brand/shopping experiences by Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce&Gabbana, Elie Saab, Etro, Dundas, Jacob & Co., Franck Muller, Garrett Leight, Cavalli, Faith Connexion and Faith Tribe, Nicholas Kirkwood in collaboration with White Rabbit NFT, Merts Otsamo in collaboration with DressX, Monnier + Republiqe and Chufy. In addition, throughout the Luxury Fashion District, visitors will be engulfed in a sensorial experience of iconic Chinese couturier Guo Pei’s masterpieces presented by UNXD, and Auroboros + UNXD will present a unique fashion immersion.
Fashion Week activations, however, live all around Decentraland, including, fully-immersive experiences, digital marketplaces, and additional brand activations:
- A stunning and immersive artistic experience with Charlie Cohen’s Electric Cities, powered by Yahoo, will delight visitors and is bound to be a highlight of the week.
- Rarible is sponsoring the new Designers Street. The Rarible Fresh Drip Zone is an area for emerging and digital designers, including Artisant, Fabeeo Breen, Fred Segal, Fresh Couture, Girl Gang, Perry Ellis, Placebo, The Fabricant, Charlie Cohen, with portals to the existing headquarters of DressX, Auroboros, XR Couture and Tribute Brand. Rarible will also have its own store in collaboration with designers to be announced in March.
- CashLabs Art Gallery + Screening Room - Where Art Meets Fashion: CashLabs Space will bring together a confluence of exhibitions highlighting the intersection of fashion and art from a mix of renowned artists and designers, as well as up-and-coming talent. Artists to be featured in CashLabs Space include Krista Kim x The Fabricant, Avavav, Antoni Tudisco, Operator, Jason Ebeyer, and Alex Box. This activation also contains a dedicated movie theater in collaboration with Show Studio, presenting fashion films by brands like Chanel and the House of Lanvin. The CashLabs team will host several fashion talks with leading names in the industry, including the official opening of the event with Alexandre de Betak.
- The Metaloop by Kollectiff will feature a special catwalk that brings to life runway shows in collaboration with DressX, Kid Super, Cider, 8SIAN, The Rebels, Christine Massarany, Anrealage, Phygicode, WYLD FLWR, The Immersive Kind and Placebo.
- Boson Protocol has built a marketplace enabling the sale of digital-to-physical garments as NFTs from top tier brands. Boson Portal is a pioneering, customizable brand environment for metaverse commerce. The space will host a series of panel discussions, highlighting the importance of decentralized commerce in the future of mainstream fashion. Brands to be showcased include Tommy Hilfiger, WYLD FLWR, Christine Massarany, DeadFellaz, PHYGICODETM x Rubin Singer, 8SIAN, and more to be announced.
- Metaparty and virtual real estate marketplace, Parcel.so, present the Community Precinct. This multi-level experience features mini-games, parkour, a chill-out floor and a fashion show featuring the very best of the Decentraland wearables designer community.
- Participants of Metaverse Fashion Week are invited to join Dragon City, who is bringing several designers and brands from Asia, and Parcel and Metaparty Community Precinct to champion the creators who consistently push the boundaries of wearables design every day in the metaverse.
- MetaTokyo's community presents a pop-up museum featuring photographs from AMIAYA, the fashion model/DJ/artist, and STREET, the legendary street style photography magazine. The community will be able to buy NFTs of the photographs, as well as participate in an airdrop of wearables featuring the AMIAYA style.
Metaverse Fashion Week will also feature the notorious After-Show Parties that are synonymous with IRL fashion weeks. Global brands such as Dolce&Gabbana (held opening night), Hogan+Exclusible, Faith Connexion and Faith Tribe + Blondish, and an installation and performance by Imitation of Christ. will host after-parties held in Decentraland. Tribute Brand is doing special Decentraland Wearable drops during a remarkable metaverse party with ICYKOF. KnownOrigin will host an afterparty on Friday, March 25, showcasing a bespoke digital fashion collection and live streaming DJ sets throughout the night. In addition, there will be a #FashionFridays pre-party show on TwitterSpaces leading up to the start of Metaverse Fashion Week. The full line-up for the after parties will be announced in early March.
As these historic brands and trailblazers recognize this paradigm shift around what fashion means in the 21st century, Decentraland is honored to host the world’s most legendary fashion houses in the world’s first Metaverse Fashion Week… See you at the catwalks.
To experience the Metaverse Fashion Week, please visit https://twitter.com/decentraland.
About Decentraland
Decentraland is a decentralized virtual social platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Within the Decentraland platform, users can create, experience, and monetize content and applications. Decentraland is unique in that it is owned and governed by the people who use the platform every day. Through the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) users can submit proposals for owners of MANA (Decentraland currency) and LAND (Decentraland property) to vote on.
About the Decentraland Foundation
Decentralization in Decentraland is supported by the Decentraland Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit organization that owns intellectual property, reports on third-party activities and developments, and works alongside companies, contributors, players, users and community members for the benefit of the platform.
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/333d0775-2656-4313-b33b-84b55fa3a8f9
