Parsons, fashion schools integrate AI

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This week we are covering…

📚 Parsons, other fashion schools future-proof via AI, web3 education

👟 Puma and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation release digital sneakers

🌟 Clueless on Roblox: The latest in digital fashion

🔥 Hot links

Parsons, other fashion schools future-proof via AI, web3 education [Link]

“We have no choice but to teach these and encourage exploration of them,” says fashion leaders and insiders of AI, web3, and other technologies that are affecting and changing the industry at breakneck speeds.

Leading fashion education institutions across the globe are fast introducing digital fashion courses into their curriculums, if the following were any indication:

• The Parsons x Roblox digital fashion education program opened in November 2022, a 16-week course teaching digital fashion practices and toolkits. The course exposed students in Roblox’s proprietary Layered Clothing Technology, user-generated content (USG), a virtually rendered runway show, and student output’s sale on Roblox’s Avatar Marketplace.

• Istituto Marangoni’s virtual Talent District, one of the 1st in the metaverse, in June 2022, where its London location hosted its 1st phygital runway last month.

• Paris-based Esmod’s Meta-wear class in 2022, an undergrad program designed to develop the skills of future creatives in the metaverse and NFTs through the use of tools such as Clo 3D, Blender, Maya, and Daz3d.

Why this matters: AI, web3, and metaverse education opens up new, accessible worlds for young creatives worldwide, and are a way to level the playing field when it comes to fashion design.

The numbers are also astronomical: In 2022 alone, 11.5M+ creators designed 62M+ items of virtual clothing and accessories on Roblox, and as more platforms crop up, there’s the fashion schools’ Eureka! moments that “very few skill sets [are] being taught in universities” to set the students up for success on these platforms.

Puma and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation release digital sneakers [Link]

Puma and Roc Nation have teamed up for the RS-XL Mixtape sneaker range, paying tribute to mixtape evolution and integrating NFTs.

The collection offers 3 unique designs, each concealing an NFC chip under the tongue. Users can scan the chip with their smartphones to unlock exclusive digital content, including NFTs minted by Legitimate on the Avalanche blockchain. Buyers also gain access to weekly mixtape releases and behind-the-scenes experiences with Roc Nation artists.

The sneakers - celebrating hip-hop's 50-year history with a blend of fashion and tech - are priced at $130 per pair and are available at Puma, Foot Locker, and Champs stores.

Clueless on Roblox: The latest in digital fashion

• Digital fashion purveyor House of Blueberry teams up with Paramount to launch a Clueless-inspired digital wearable collection on Roblox. Expect Cher’s style in the initial 15-piece collection including the Alicia Silverstone character’s yellow plaid outfit, red dress, and boa. The immersive 3D popup store from House of Blueberry, which has 20M+ digital assets sold across platforms, features an interactive showroom based on Cher’s closet.

• Cult luxury streetwear brand Aries partners with rum-based coconut-flavored liqueur brand Malibu on a limited-ed collection that embraces AI and includes 2 T-shirts featuring a specially created Aries x Malibu logo, a dip-dyed string vest, a hand-sprayed trucker cap, and an Aries premium varsity jacket emblazoned with hand-embroidered patches.

• Vans’ immersive Roblox platform Vans World has recently breached the 100M visitor mark. Vans World launched in September 2021 to bring skateboarding, fashion, and community together in a single experience on Roblox, and has emerged as one of the longest-running brand experiences on Roblox, logging 8M+ hours.

Makeup on Microsoft Teams: This week in digital beauty

• Microsoft Teams is integrating Maybelline’s AI-powered makeup filters, a lineup of 12 digital makeup looks for Teams Enterprise users to apply during their meetings. Each look offers a breakdown of the real-world Maybelline products and shades being replicated by the filter - one in the ongoing trend among companies using virtual try-on experiences to promote their products, but this time in a corporate workplace software.

• NARS Cosmetics collaborates with SuperRare and digital artists to drop NFTs for National Orgasm Day on July 31. Inspired by the colors and textures of the iconic Orgasm shade, the bespoke digital pieces are commissioned from 5 female-identifying artists, with the single-ed Ethereum NFT artworks available via the SuperRare platform.

AI advances fashion’s bid for less waste, more sustainability

The apparel industry's environmental impact has been an ongoing concern, but AI is helping tackle the problem a few different ways:

• Demand forecasting: AI algorithms enable accurate demand forecasting, production, and inventory management, reducing overproduction and preventing excess stock. This helps fashion companies minimize their environmental impact by ensuring the right products are available in the right quantities at the right time.

•  Virtual sampling: Traditional fashion production often causes material waste due to multiple physical iterations of garments. AI-driven simulation and visualization allow designers and manufacturers to evaluate garments digitally, reducing waste.

• Personalized recommendations: AI-powered recommendation systems use ML algorithms to understand customer preferences and suggest relevant items, thus improving the shopping experience.

The creative promise: As a recent example, an artist used AI to design fashion pieces from plastic and waste plastic bottles, raising awareness about plastic pollution. The artistic endeavors bring attention to pressing environmental issues and spark conversations about (un)sustainable practices in the fashion space.

🔥 Hot Links

• Could generative AI solve fashion’s excess stock problems? (Link)

• SilkFred unveils Fred, an AI personal shopping experience offering curated looks from 900+ indie brands. (Link)

• Bo+tee faces backlash for posting a whitewashed “Barbie” photo of black model, using an AI. (Link)

• Winners at the tech-savvy 2023 Glossy Fashion Awards as it celebrates sustainability, inclusivity, and personalized shopping experiences. (Link)

• Thekiso Mokhele’s AI photos of Bree Street explosion elicit mixed reactions on social media. (Link)

• Here’s a holographic virtual wear system based on web3. (Link)

• Perfect Corp’s AI-driven AR solutions offer virtual try-on experience for Indian beauty and fashion brands. (Link)

• Global firms publish sustainability law guides for the apparel sector. (Link)

• Meanwhile, Loewe tops Lyst hottest brands ranking for the first time. (Link)

• Artist and Draup founder Dani Loftus on leading a cultural metamorphosis around digital fashion. (Link)

• The CEO of web3-savvy Gucci is set to exit amid a leadership shake-up at parent company Kering. (Link)

• Metaverse lab USM and MetaWear jointly launch the MetaWear Fashion Dome, where the latter will help USM display and sell its digital clothing to users. (Link)

• Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS has a $4B valuation. (Link)

• Here’s what “virtual try-on” in airports looks like. (Link)

• ZTX and Dust Labs unveil exclusive partner wearables to jazz up the web3 world. (Link)

• Evolution and revolution: When games and fashion converge. (Link)

• In line with trends of brands tapping into Roblox and other virtual experiences, backpack brand JanSport gets a headstart in back-to-school shopping with GenZ targeting via TikTok influencers. (Link)

• Kabuki and other traditional Japanese performing arts garb turn into digital collectibles. (Link)

• John Lewis’s new service allows customers to virtually try on their potential rental purchases. (Link)

• Now that speculative NFT buyers have left the chat, Draup and Rstlss are finetuning their collections, and storytelling. (Link)

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.

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