Welcome to the Fashion Innovation Round-up, a monthly summary of the most salient stories at the intersection of fashion and technology.
June 2022 Executive Summary
While June is typically a slow month for fashion, this year is an exception to the rule. With a slew of IRL events taking place around the world—including Cannes and NFT NYC— the internet is abuzz with news of collaborations, campaigns, and creativity. Many announcements make clear that the market isn’t done with digital dressing and the idea of online representation.
This month, the battle of the avatars grew more intense, with Tiktok rolling out their own avatars and Meta announcing collaborations with fashion brands like Prada to dress their in-platform avatars. Meanwhile, new data this month provides more evidence that augmented reality is a powerful conversion tool for those shopping online, which may explain why both Amazon and Walmart made moves in this space. NFT and crypto projects prevail in the headlines, despite the recent crash.
Digital Fashion
- Meta announced it’s going to open up a digital clothing store where you can purchase outfits for your avatars. Dubbed the “Meta Avatars Store,” this virtual retail space will sell items from fashion brands like Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne for between $2.99 to $8.99.
- Wearable tech company WearableX has collaborated with DressX on a pair of digital yoga pants
- Snap teamed up with British Vogue to offer a number of looks for try-on in AR at Cannes
Avatars
- TikTok rolls out avatars
- New York Times’ style editor Vanessa Friedman reacts to Meta’s opening of a new fashion store in the metaverse.
NFTs
- DKNY Unveils New Iteration Of Its Iconic Logo, Reimagined As An NFT, For Charity
- Lacoste has officially launched its first NFT project titled “Undw3.” The collection, which is pronounced “underwater” plays to the brand’s crocodile motif as it brings the heritage label to Web3.
- Puma is getting into NFTs and digital sneakers
Gaming
- American brand Tommy Hilfiger has launched its own game inside the Roblox platform. Tommy Play dubbs itself “a city reimagined, rediscovered and replayed,” where gamers are invited to collect Tommy Tokens to exchange for items like windbreakers, t-shirts, tank tops, cycle shorts, sweatpants, and hats.
Augmented Retail
- Retail giant Amazon is delving deeper into augmented reality with the rollout of its virtual try-on for sneakers. The new feature, available within the Amazon app for iOS users, lets you visualize how sneakers from New Balance, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, Superga, Lacoste, Asics, and Saucony will look on your feet.
- In celebration of the Lola bag, Burberry has launched a new augmented reality (AR) functionality on Burberry.com which allows customers to virtually place a true-to-scale model of the signature bag within their environment.
- New research shows that augmented reality improves consumer confidence when making purchasing decisions and leads to fewer returns
- Home improvement retailer Lowe’s rolls out its own metaverse hub to help customers visualize its products
- Walmart announced it has acquired tech company Memomi Labs Inc., an augmented reality (AR) optical tech company. Memomi will bring AR try-on to online purchases.
Crypto
- Alo Yoga is among the first fashion brands to give employees the option to convert their paychecks into cryptocurrency.
- Watchmaker TAG Heuer has partnered with the well-known nonfungible token (NFT) community surrounding Bored Ape Yacht Club and CLONE-X to create a smartwatch that displays NFTs and connects to crypto wallets such as MetaMask and Ledger Live
Podcast Episodes you may have missed
- Creating a new Reality for Fashion: The Dematerialised and Web3 virtual goods
- How a Festival Fashion Brand Turned to NFTs and Digital Wearables to Stay Relevant During the Pandemic
- Can eCommerce be a Metaverse Experience?
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