THE METAVERSE AND THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR FASHION

The metaverse - this unique social, cultural and communication phenomenon, is increasingly confronting modern humanity. The new parallel digital world opens up a unique opportunity for the arts, in particular for fashion design, the fashion business and the fashion industry. The next era of communication and connectivity after the Internet is obviously Web 3.0 with all its advantages - from blockchain technology through irreplaceable tokens (NFT), unique avatars and endless prospects for new digital identification, creative imagination and extraordinary status symbols.

But what makes the metaverse so magnetic, so appealing to fashion? Why will people increasingly buy digital rather than physical clothing? What is the explanation for the "luxury boom" (if we can call it some of the most influential fashion brands) in parallel reality? Why fashion houses like “Louis Vuitton” and “Givenchy”, “Gucci “and “Balenciaga”, “Balmen” and “Ralph Lauren”, “Versace”, “Dolce & Gabbana”, “Hugo”, “Nike”, “Adidas” and many others have successfully occupied the metaspace and are receiving dividends - both image and material. Is this invasion of style and beauty in the metauniverse problem-free, however? ...

The advantages of the new digital world, in particular - of the fashion metaverse, are large-scale - from the new quality of subjective experience in augmented, augmented and mixed reality, through the unseen and unheard of unleashing creative imagination, to mastering the benefits of transforming environment - the space of new models of creativity, art and business. It is normal to have high expectations from the metaverse - expectations for the merging of the two processes, and for the further decentralization and democratization of fashion, for even greater freedom of choice and the right to taste.

The prospects of the metauniverse are stunning in many ways, but the digital future of fashion and the fashion industry must still be approached with common sense and responsibility. Bitterly deceived will be those who gullibly overestimate the rise of metauniversal fashion. More and more problems will arise with the ethical presence in the new virtual worlds, with the regulation and guarantees for the protection of personal data, with theft and fraud, with cases of cyberbullying and harassment. The first condition for dealing with the shortcomings of meta-universal fashion is to identify, analyze and diagnose the problems and risks that exist in the next phase of the Internet.

The first week of Metaverse fashion, which will start on March 24, 2022, arouses great curiosity. This virtual mega event is organized by the Metaverse Decentraland platform and has the ambition to offer ideal conditions for fashion shows, showrooms, branded after parties, digital shopping and sales. of physical clothing, music sessions and what not. Meta Universe Fashion Week, or MVFW, provokes serious business fever, as those wishing to participate are more than real opportunities, and the chances to see how 3D virtual world platforms work, buy digital plots and dress and wear digital clothing is truly unique. The upcoming meta-universal fashion week will strive to build in a way never seen before the previous fashion forums and fashion shows presented digitally and virtually.

The difficulties with copyright protection in fashion design under traditional, physical conditions are well known. It is known how complicated and often almost impossible it is in the current real world for a fashion designer to prove and protect his copyright on the clothes, work techniques, accessories and various other additions he has created. But these difficulties are quite harmless against the background of the gigantic problems associated with the regulation of copyright and intellectual property in the parallel digital universe. Here, figuratively speaking, digital intellectual property is in the embryonic stage of its development, and designers, lawyers, blockchain and NFT specialists are almost helpless. Almost because there are already encouraging precedents, such as the one in Wyoming (USA), which has already recognized the legal status of the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). There is an important legal fact that means that in this state the decentralized autonomous organization may have intellectual property rights.

However, cases of litigation over the rights to irreplaceable tokens will also become more frequent. Battles like the one that began in January 2022, when the creator of the digital bag MetaBirkin (NFT) Mason Rothschild was sued by the French fashion house "Hermes" for alleged violation of the trademark of the iconic luxury bags Birkin of the famous brand, inspired at the time by singer and actress Jane Birkin.
Regardless of the risks that inevitably exist with any new venture, the parallel digital world should fill us with optimism, as it offers new opportunities for rapid realization of talented young and unknown designers. New models for art and creativity, business and entrepreneurship are being created, and the role of artificial intelligence is growing.

The metaverse of the captivates style with the hitherto unknown chances for the manifestation of creative imagination and fantasy in fashion design, for the integration of the most popular video games with fashion trends. The parallel digital reality guarantees a dizzying increase in the aesthetics of visualization and visualization of aesthetics, as well as the presentation of a new type of aesthetic experience and the use of ultra-modern status symbols for digital identification. And last but not least - the metaspace offers truly limitless options for choosing and changing the look. Let us welcome the new with wide open arms, but also with relentless exactingness and responsibility - social, cultural and human.

Read: 1854 times                                                  © Fashion Lifestyle Magazine, issue 117, Mart 2022

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