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The rise of crypto fashion: Spending real money for exclusive digital closet

The rise of crypto fashion: Spending real money for exclusive digital closet
Fashion industry strides into the crypto space.
Virtual clothes are increasingly attracting gamers and NFT investors, and have attracted big fashion brands, too


The pandemic has sparked huge interest in shared virtual environments, or the metaverse. It refers to shared virtual worlds where land, buildings, avatars and even names can be bought and sold, often using cryptocurrency. This has led to a market for digital fashion or NFT wearables. While the idea of spending real money on clothing that does not physically exist is baffling to many, virtual possessions generate real sales in the metaverse.
In June, the virtual world Decentraland said that users could make and sell their own clothing for avatars to wear on the site, so Hiroto Kai, a digital artist, designed Japanese-inspired garments. Selling kimonos for around $140 each (Rs9,800 approx), he said he made $15,000-$20,000 (Rs10,50,000-Rs14,00,000 approx) in just three weeks. After making what he’d earn in a year at his music store job, in just three weeks as a full-time designer, the 23-year-old quit his job. “It was a new way to express yourself and it’s walking art, that’s what’s so cool about it... When you have a piece of clothing, you can go to a party in it, you can dance in it, you can show off and it’s a status symbol.”

NFT Wearables provide an immersive experience while gaming, shopping online
“Your avatar represents you,” says Imani McEwan, a Miami-based fashion model and NFT enthusiast. McEwan reckons he has spent $15,000 to $16,000 (Rs11 lakh to Rs12 lakh approx) on 70 NFT wearable items since January, using profit from crypto investments. His first purchase was a bitcoin-themed sweater.
The overall size of the NFT wearables market is difficult to establish. In Decentraland alone, wearable sales volume totalled approximately Rs5 crore in the first half of 2021, from Rs2 crore in the same period last year, according to a website which tracks the NFT market. Some proponents say shopping in virtual shops could be the future of retail. “Instead of scrolling through a feed and shopping online, you can have a more immersive brand experience by exploring a virtual space – whether you are shopping for your online avatar or for yourself,” says Julia Schwartz, director of a virtual real estate investment vehicle.

Empress of the Metaverse has been sold of 3 ETH (Ethereum, a form of cryptocurrency) or Rs6 lakh approx. It was the highest bid NFT auctioned at the Meta-Gala


NFT wearables, a solution to fast fashion?
For NFT enthusiasts, online fashion does not replace physical purchases. But Paula Sello and Alissa Aulbekova, co-founders of the digital fashion start-up, say it could be an environment-friendly alternative to fast fashion. Customers can send the brand an image of themselves and have clothing made digitally. Sello argued that the virtual garment concept could limit the waste of consumers buying clothes to wear on social media.
Fashion industry strides into crypto
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The niche crypto assets are capturing the attention of some of the world’s biggest fashion companies, keen to associate themselves with a new generation of gamers. In the past few months, big fashion brands have invested in NFTs. One of them launched metaverse games where players can collect NFTs, while others sold wearables to gaming platforms.
Recently, DressX, a digital fashion platform, partnered with an NFT trading platform, allowing NFT collectors and enthusiasts to have their own digital closet – one that is not only fashionable, but also exclusive. Talking about the NFT boom in art, music and now fashion, augmented reality artist Ansh Kumar says, “As an artist, it is a way for me to monetise my work. It is great to see that digital art is not redundant any more and goes beyond something you can just post on social media. Via metaverse, big fashion labels are creating a market for people to engage with their products.”

The ‘Sky Goddess’ by digital tailoring artist Melinda Manunta was sold at 1 ETH (Rs2 lakh approx) at the Meta-Gala auction

“People buy NFTs as they feel this would be a big market in the coming years. It is still an untapped market in India, especially in fashion,” says Brooklyn-based digital artist Ravi Guru Singh, who co-created traditional Indian fashion NFTs with Madrid-based 3D fashion designer Lorena Bello. “With metaverses trending, fashion markets will see more newbies coming up, alongside the already established fashion brands,” he adds.

The world’s first Indian digital fashion collection designed by the duo was inspired by cultural traditions, brought together with technology. Ravi believes that once the South Asian market matures, people will invest real money into the hot market of NFTs. Although the NFT fashion space hasn’t yet found its feet, it has the potential to create ‘an anarchist utopia’, he shares. Ravi auctioned his first-ever Bollywood-themed NFT wearable, ‘Bollywood meta suit,’ at $3600 (Rs2 lakh approx) at the recently concluded Meta-Gala, an event featuring a number of digital fashion NFTs.

Bollywood fashion NFT designed by Ravi Guru Singh and Lorena Bello, was inspired by Neeta Lulla’s costume for Hrithik Roshan in Jodhaa Akbar. It was auctioned for Rs2 lakh approx


— Reuters
With inputs from Shivika Manchanda

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