What’s the Point of Digital Fashion? | Karinna Grant | TED

Summary

Digital fashion is emerging as the next trend in both gaming and high fashion. Brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton are selling virtual designs alongside physical items, sometimes at equal or even higher prices, targeting younger luxury shoppers. As we spend more time in online spaces, our digital avatars will become an increasingly important means of self-expression. Though still nascent, digital fashion could transform design, production, and consumption in the fashion industry, with potential sustainability benefits from digitizing wardrobes to reducing returns and waste.

Takeaways

• 😀 Digital fashion is gaining popularity as a new form of virtual goods and is exploding onto the scene in gaming and social media
• 😎 Digital fashion items are dematerialized, made of pixels instead of threads but still have real value and provide ownership feelings
• 😲 Luxury brands like Gucci and Vuitton are bringing together gaming and luxury with surprising yet expensive digital fashion items
• 😮 Digital fashion has tremendous creative potential and possibilities free from physical constraints like cost and gravity
• 🤓 Digital fashion can be worn on physical or virtual selves via augmented reality for digital dressing and avatar representation
• 🤔 Digital fashion could help address sustainability by reducing overproduction and garment waste in the physical fashion system
• 🔥 Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are key to digital fashion's future by turning digital designs into tradable assets with built-in authenticity
• 📈 Digital tools can help consumers maximize their physical wardrobe usage so less ends up in landfill each year
• 😃 By 2033 you'll likely own less physical clothing as digital fashion subscriptions for your avatar become more popular
• 🌟 The metaverse and web3 are bringing life increasingly online; digital fashion lets us represent our evolving multidimensional selves

Q & A

What is digital fashion made of?

Digital fashion is made of pixels rather than physical threads of fabric. It exists in the digital realm.

What are some examples of digital-first fashion brands?

Some examples are The Fabricant, Tribute brand, Auroboros, and RTFKT.

What are phygitals in fashion?

Phygitals refer to physical and digital fashion items that are sold together as a set.

How can digital fashion be more sustainable than physical fashion?

Digital fashion reduces overproduction and waste since items don't need to be physically manufactured. It also facilitates reuse of digital designs.

How can digital fashion help consumers buy more sustainably?

Tools like Save Your Wardrobe can help consumers maintain and care for items to increase longevity. Virtual try-on can reduce returns from online shopping.

What role do NFTs play in digital fashion?

NFTs allow digital fashion assets to be uniquely owned and traded. This helps protect designer intellectual property.

How might our wardrobes change by 2033?

They may contain more digital subscription-based items for avatars and virtual worlds rather than physical items.

Why do people value virtual goods?

Gamers and digital platform users value the ability to customize their online identities and stand out from others.