🕶 Metaproof Fashion

Gm fashionistas! This is Sophia from 🕶 Metaproof Fashion, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse & web3 are changing the fashion industry.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse fashion news every Tuesday!

💌 A quick thanks to our friends…

This edition is sponsored by the OG metaverse fashion peeps The Fabricant. They have been deep down the metaverse fashion rabbit hole since 2018 and are pioneers in every sense of the word. They are on a mission to change the fashion industry and are making great progress - check them out today!

📲 By the numbers

• The digital clothing industry earned $498.7M in 2021 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.4% between 2022 and 2031, with an estimated value of $4.8B by 2031. (Source)

• The 3D software market is expected to experience the highest CAGR of 27.29% from 2022 to 2031, with major players like Adidas, Nike, and H&M employing various 3D software to maintain their competitiveness and produce high-quality designs. (Source)

📫 News & trends

❓How ChatGPT and AI are appearing on Fashion Week runways

Fashion and technology have been intertwined for years, and we are seeing more and more players in the space use technology to improve their operations. At London Fashion Week, 5-year-old British brand Ahluwalia announced a partnership with digital ID startup EON and Microsoft to bring full supply chain consumer traceability to Ahluwalia’s fall collection through digital IDs.

Here are other developments in fashion tech:

• For Fall 2023, designers are leveraging tech to inform marketing, designs, and supply chain tracking rather than just using it as a gimmick. KWK by Kay Kwok, based in Shanghai, collaborated with a sound artist who utilized ChatGPT to produce lyrics that were accompanied by a violin for their runway show's soundtrack, while British designer Christopher Kane incorporated AI to create animal prints for his collection.

• Adidas, Burberry, and Carrefour have tied up with blockchain startups to create digital IDs that can be used to track a product's journey from raw materials to the finished product. This helps customers know that they are buying authentic products while also enabling brands to track their supply chains more effectively.

• Microsoft has partnered with the Fashion Institute of Technology to create a revolutionary new degree program that teaches students how to use AI in fashion design, helping students learn how to use AI to analyze data and produce more personalized and on-trend creations.

🐊 Fashion powerhouse Lacoste files 5 trademarks for metaverse-compatible brand

Renowned fashion label Lacoste has augmented its presence in the virtual world by filing submissions for subsidiary trademarks related to its new Champs-Elysees line of clothing, jewelry, and handbags, which were introduced back in July 2022 as a label compatible with the crypto sphere.

The apparel brand's applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on February 17 were disclosed in a tweet made by NFT and digital space-endorsed trademark lawyer Michael Kondoudis on February 22. The trademark filings cover NFTs, cryptographic transaction software, virtual clothing, shoes, eyewear, sportswear, and more. With this new development, Lacoste’s next move in the metaverse is no less than worth watching.

🎉 Web3 fashion brand DRX launches new collection

Merging streetwear culture and the web3 community to create exclusive and collectible apparel, AR-powered fashion brand DRx, Futureverse ecosystem, and web3 third-person shooter and adventure game Walker World have launched the collection called Kill Team Stabbi, which features full-body, game-rigged 3D avatars that are ready for interoperable gameplay in the ecosystem’s open metaverse. The physical merchandise includes a hoodie, t-shirt, and baseball hat, while the extremely rare Kill Team onesie is inspired by the empowered and dynamic Walker World Females collection of characters.

The collection will consist of 675 Purple Capsules and 75 Rare Stabbi Pattern Capsules, and interested collectors will have 24 hours to mint the collection on March 2. Each minted capsule will include interoperable digital wearables and a DRx prescription to claim a physical apparel version of each item.

📢 Degen Toonz announces customizable fashion offering at NFT Paris

NFT collection Degen Toonz has just taken its offering to the next level with The Closet, an exciting new ecosystem that allows holders to customize their Toonz with digital wearables and collaborate with existing web2 brands. The Closet creates a whole new world of trading opportunities for Toonz holders, giving them the chance to express themselves in unique and creative ways through their own personalized PFPs. It also offers a wide range of digital wearables that can be used to further individualize their profiles. Degen Toonz currently has 5,000 unique holders in its vibrant ecosystem, each of whom can benefit from this innovative offering. Of this user base, 80% are based in the US, 10% in China, and 5% in Canada, with the remaining 5% made up of various global collectors.

🇲🇴 Why Macau’s latest digital fashion exhibition is so important

The Macau Fashion Gallery's new exhibition "Beyond the Boundaries: Boundary Between Virtual and Reality – Greater Bay Area Fashion” is an ambitious endeavor that seeks to explore the potential of fashion in China’s Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong, Macau, and nine municipalities in Guangdong province) featuring a mix of virtual showcasing, 3D-printed clothing, and augmented reality viewing experiences. Some choice details:

• Supported by organizations such as the Guangdong Association of Garment and Garment Article Industry, the Guangdong Fashion Designers Association, and the Hong Kong Fashion Farm Foundation,the exhibition is an incredible platform for emerging talent to come together and showcase their work.

• Macau’s fashion sector embraced web3 was in October 2022 when the Macau Fashion Show featured a virtual show co-hosted by Macau digital fashion brand 404absent, which was co-founded by Fiona Sam and sold items as NFTs, and MaConsef, the fashion incubator of the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center (CPTTM).

• Hong Kong is currently pushing to become a web3 hub. As Beijing seeks to tightly coordinate the development of GBA, the fashion sector from each area can complement one another.

🇮🇳 Is the Indian fashion industry ready to tackle the metaverse on a global scale?

Indian fashion insiders and enthusiasts are starting to see India's extensive traditional culture and materials in a new, modern, and innovative light. Rishi Vimadalal, a tech influencer and the Chief of Operations at Falguni Shane Peacock, feels that the virtual universe would enable a more meaningful interaction with clients. With a digital metaverse, fashion designers and brands can create and showcase their latest collections in a completely new and immersive environment, enhancing their bid to reach a wider audience that goes beyond geographical boundaries, traditional fashion shows, and relentless online scrolling. Mass customization, flexible manufacturing, 3D configuration, and virtual reality are transforming the supply chain and customer interaction processes with the magic of technology – and the Indian industry is reaping the perks as we speak!

💭 What will AI mean for fashion?

The potential of artificial intelligence to revolutionize the fashion industry is immense, with such far-reaching implications for creatives. Generative AI is a creative AI that can do things such as:

• Generate original output from a prompt as it allows users to easily create unique designs and products, without the need for manual labor or intensive training.

• Allow users to quickly create designs based on their own input, mainly through apps and platforms such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion.

• Reduce the need for junior positions such as assistant designers, product developers, and graphic designers by automating certain processes that allow companies to save time and money while still producing quality designs.

• Enable more experienced designers to focus on higher-level tasks such as conceptualizing new ideas or developing long-term strategies.

• Help fashion designers create more sustainable collections and reduce the fashion industry's environmental impact amid being notorious for wasteful practices.

🏃‍♂️Quick hits

• Adidas will be debuting a community-focused experience at the upcoming Metaverse Fashion Week in Decentraland, which will feature an AI-generated fashion show, a virtual art gallery, and a tribute to the late Vivienne Westwood.

• Metaverse platform Highstreet has partnered with 3D product and NFT platform BNV to offer a fashion retail experience and exclusive merchandise on Highstreet World, featuring a range of designer-brand wearables, including tokenized pieces from recent BNV drops with artists and designers such as Mishka NYC and Jamie Reid.

• Scottish composer Alastair White's fashion-opera #CAPITAL is opening Metaverse Fashion Week 2023, featuring Winter Olympics brand CHENPENG's digital fashion and performed in the House of Synergos designed by experiential retail specialist Sybarite architects.

• Amber Parks has introduced the fashion and lifestyle initiative PLAY! POP! GO!, which merges upscale streetwear with web3 technology to offer fashion encounters that are wearable both IRL and virtually.

• Are fashion brands offering digital assets aware of consumer rights? Consumers in the UK and European Union are entitled to a refund within 14 days of purchasing digital content unless the consumer waives this right before entering into the contract.

💸 Finance buzz

• Copenhagen startup OWND raised £750,000 ($1M) in seed funding ahead of launching its fashion NFT platform and with an intent to fuel growth in the UK and US markets. (Source)

• Web3 fashion startup DE-Star raised $700,000 in angel funding with the goal of incorporating Asian cultural heritage into the metaverse, using the funding to expand the team and build the platform's infrastructure, with a beta launch planned for Q3 2023. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse fashion news every Tuesday.