Welcome to the Fashion Innovation Round-up, a monthly summary of the most salient stories at the intersection of fashion and technology.
AUGUST 2022 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Early this month, the world lost iconic designer Issey Miyake, leaving a gaping hole in the fashion imagination. Miyake was known equally for his technology-driven clothing and his playful runway shows. At the same time, Tommy Hilfiger is betting big on the business of avatars with their recently announced Parallel Tommy Hilfiger. Virtual influencer Lil Miquela has been named the face of Pac Sun and startup Nreal raises $15 million to make augmented reality glasses people will actually want to wear. If what’s happening in August is a sign of what’s to come this fall, it promises to be an eventful September at the intersection of fashion and tech.
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
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- Apple has been awarded a slew of patents that indicate further interest in wearable technology, including one for a smart ring and augmented reality glasses. Apple is anticipated to enter the smart glasses space next year
- Kim Kardashian has teamed up with Beats to bring her signature neutral palette to the headphones
- Augmented reality startup Nreal has raised $15 million from IICOMBINED, the optical company that owns Gentle Monster
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DIGITAL FASHION
Anyone doubting the importance of virtual goods needs to take a closer look at China and Nike right now:
- This month, sales of Chinese digital collectables hit 150 million yuan (more than $219 million), and this number is expected to maintain a growth rate of about 150% in the next few years. In 2026, China’s digital collectables sales are expected to reach 15.112 billion yuan (upwards of $22 billion)
- New data on the ROI of NFTs shows that Nike has made more than $93 million in revenue from selling virtual items
1/ Using AI to imagine alternate worlds????
collab w/ ????@michaelcarychao ????Sagans #discodiffusion #aiart #artificialintelligence pic.twitter.com/kCFi25bs9P— Karen X. Cheng (@karenxcheng) August 16, 2022
AVATARS
Avatars aren’t just fun and games, they’re big business, which may explain why Roblox has filed a copyright lawsuit over copycat avatars. Other brands including Blueberry and Tommy Hilfiger made strides in this space in August, while Genies launches their much-anticipated storefront:
- Blueberry Launches Direct-to-Avatar 3D Shopping Experience on Roblox
- Digital Avatar startup Genies has launched an NFT storefront, “The Warehouse”
- Tommy Hilfiger, in collaboration with Ready Player Me, has launched “apparel for parallel worlds” with Parallel Tommy
NFTS
- Meta will be extending NFT support to Instagram, allowing users to connect their digital wallets and share artworks they purchased while automatically attributing the artist.
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- New York Fashion Week has launched NFTs in collaboration with digital payment platform Afterpay.
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- Celebrated fashion photographer Nick Knight has released 8,000 NFT artworks depicting digital fashion
- Tiffany and Co has released one-of-a-kind pendants modeled after your Cryptopunk
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- Prada has released the third installment of their Timecapsule NFT drop, a collection of 50 gender-neutral digital garments sold as digital collectibles. Some of the NFTs come with access to runway shows
AUGMENTED RETAIL
- Amazon Fashion rolls out AR try-on for sunglasses in Europe
- Nike’s new AR experience highlights archival styles
MARKETING
- Athleisure brand Alo yoga has teamed up with Roblox to launch its own metaverse complemented by a five-piece digital fashion collection
- Virtual influencer Lil Miquela has been named the face of Pac Sun
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- A report in June showed that H&M was guilty of greenwashing. Now the company is being sued for these false claims.
- Kate Spade invites customers into the Metaverse to buy its newest bags
Don’t miss Electric Runway founder Amanda Cosco on stage at Elevate Toronto. Amanda will be interviewing Matt Bolivar, the retail vertical lead at Snap.
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