DIpil Das
Metaverse Latest
Metaverse technologies and virtual gaming have surged in popularity during the Covid19 pandemic and are continuing to evolve, grow and converge each month. Coresight Research has identified the expanding metaverse as a key trend to watch in global retail in 2022 and beyond. Our Metaverse Latest series provides regular updates on metaverse developments, showing how key players and new entrants are seizing opportunities in the space. In this report, we explore Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week, which took place on March 24–28, 2022, covering notable attractions, strategies and brand offerings. We also present other developments as of April 5, 2022.Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week
The metaverse has been constantly developing, with brands and retailers employing innovative strategies to build a digital presence. In its infancy, Decentraland is one of the oldest metaverse platforms and is most accessible to users (from desktop). As such, many trends with long-term staying power are being established in the virtual world. The first ever metaverse-based fashion week took place in Decentraland on March 24–28, 2022. It saw immersive experiences, NFT collections, fashion and runway shows, virtual storefronts, panels and discussions, and after-parties, with exclusive NFT collection drops. More than 70 brands, many notable and many metaverse-native, participated in the Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW) to showcase collections or sell products to customers in the form of NFTs. NFTs from virtual store exhibitions and catwalks are available in Decentraland’s marketplace and listed in secondary marketplace OpenSea, and many were available to purchase through the brand’s website when viewers clicked through the display during the event. To participate in digital commerce, users downloaded crypto wallets. Such events in virtual environments enable brands to sell products with minimal setup and overhead costs, and change their offerings, experiences and appearances of storefronts on a day-to-day basis. Decentraland provided users with a detailed list of events intended to provide fashion and shopping experiences of every conceivable type in a virtual setting, where the possibilities are endless. Notable Attractions Rarible Street: Rarible, which separately runs an NFT marketplace, purchased plots of land in Decentraland, where it hosted a diverse suite of brands, creators and NFT artists in a temporary zone dubbed “Rarible Fresh Drip Zone” specifically for MVFW. Notable real-world brands that set up shop were PUMA and Fred Segal, which both opened digital storefronts to sell NFTs. Other real-world brands, such as Perry Ellis and Fresh Couture, opened digital storefronts to gain exposure and showcase collections. [caption id="attachment_145350" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
The Fred Segal storefront (left) and the Perry Ellis store (right) on Rarible Street Source: WWD [/caption]
- Apparel retailer PUMA teamed up with digital asset marketplace ARTISTANT and Middle Eastern fashion designer Regina Turbina to drop its NFT collection exhibit it in a virtual store in Rarible’s drip zone, part of PUMA’s “She Moves Us” campaign. These NFTs, which include digital sportswear, gear and wedding apparel, will be auctioned separately on ARTISTANT.
Digital clothing in PUMA’s NFT Collection (left); PUMA’s virtual Decentraland storefront (right) Source: ARTISTANT/PUMA [/caption]
- Appearing for a limited time on Rarible Street was Fresh Couture, a sportswear and loungewear retailer based in UK. At its boutique storefront, held several immersive events, the primary being a full catwalk experience of digital avatars showcasing its new collection, which was adapted specifically for MVFW in Decentraland. The avatars were displayed levitating amidst backdrops of stunning imagery, while every user stopping by had a front-row seat to enjoy.
- Fashion house Etro had a significant presence in UNXD’s Luxury Fashion District. In Etro’s pop-up virtual store, customers could be immediately directed to Etro’s website for physical apparel or shop for wearables for their avatars. Making use of blockchain anonymity, Etro also hosted a virtual catwalk show to debut a gender-fluid collection of 20 looks. (For more on blockchain anonymity, please read our report, Building Blocks of the Metaverse: Blockchain.)
Avatars from Etro’s gender-fluid collection (left); Etro’s virtual storefront (right) Source: Etro [/caption]
- Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana personally designed an exclusive NFT collection of 20 avatar wearables, debuted on its virtual runway, which users had to “teleport” to, with cat-faced idols.
Custom avatars from Dolce & Gabbana’s MVFW collection Source: UNXD [/caption] Other Brand Offerings
- Fashion retailing giant Forever 21 is one of the few stores to establish a permanent shop in Decentraland. In its storefront, the company presented an exclusive collection of avatar wearables designed for Decentraland.
- Designer Charli Cohen, also owner of NFT company RSTLSS, held a space within Decentraland where she sold her NFT avatar wearables, with full pricing information displayed in a user-friendly manner in an immersive setting.
Charli Cohen X RSTLSS NFT clothing with pricing information Source: Charli Cohen/WWD [/caption]
- Luxury brand Dundas, with its virtual boutique and catwalk, strove specifically to ensure that the digital and physical worlds were seamlessly blended. The store, which opened a few days before MVFW began, showcased apparel and directed customers to its e-commerce channel. Dundas also announced a collaboration for avatar wearables with digitally native brand, DressX, which owns a storefront in one of Decentraland’s most highly-trafficked areas, shopping area “Metajuku.”
- German luxury fashion designer Philipp Plein, Founder of Swiss-based Plein Group, purchased 65 parcels of land in Decentraland in mid-February for $1.4 million ($21,540 each, on average). During MVFW, Plein debuted “Plein Plaza,” a new permanent attraction in Decentraland. In Plein Plaza, players can visit a modern museum of NFT artwork and explore NFT collections dropped exclusively for Decentraland. During MVFW, Plein Group collaborated with 3D artists on virtual catwalks and hosted several parties with metaverse-native artists. NFTs are available through auction house Portion, which also own land in Decentraland, on Plein’s website and in
- Estée Lauder was the exclusive beauty brand of MVFW. Also opening a permanent location, the beauty retailer minted a limited quantity of 10,000 NFT wearables inspired by its Advanced Night Repair product. Customers had the chance to “step inside” the iconic bottle of night repair and receive proof-of-attendance protocol, generating NFTs and digital badges.
Source: Estée Lauder[/caption]
- Digitally native sneaker brand NTR1-Meta opened a virtual storefront with their sneakers that can be worn on avatars in the metaverse, on customers in the real world, or traded and collected as NFTs. NTR1-Meta has dubbed the sneakers as the first-ever “phygital” collection.
- Italian luxury brand Hogan’s presence in MVFW, in partnership with creative studio Braw Haus, featured a unique experience in its special “Hogan-X” afterparty in which users had the opportunity to compete in a virtual dance competition, earning NFTs as prizes. The event celebrates the drop of its “Untraditional” collection of unique shoes. Taking its metaverse presence a step further, Hogan’s storefront within Boson Portal continues to remain open, with customers able to purchase NFTs redeemable for physical assets on Boson Protocol’s NFT market.
Sneakers from Hogan’s “Untraditional” collection Source: Hogan [/caption] Also debuting virtual collections and stores were UK-based Selfridges, which provided an immersive journey inspired by its iconic Birmingham store, and Tommy Hilfiger, which partnered with Decentraland playground Boson Portal to sell both digital and physical products appearing in its store. The portal’s parent, Boson Protocol, owns a boulevard in Decentraland—a plot of land which it purchased for $704,000 in June 2021—where it aims to connect brands to customers to experiment with virtual opportunities. [caption id="attachment_145357" align="aligncenter" width="699"]
Virtual Tommy Hilfiger clothing pieces in its store (left); Boson Portal playground (right) Source: Boson Protocol [/caption] Other Recent Metaverse Developments Virtual Worlds and Platforms
- On March 22, 2022 , Yuga Labs, which created the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT (non-fungible token) collection, raised $450 million, bringing its total value to $4 billion. Yuga Labs is also creating a metaverse platform, dubbed Otherside, to connect players to the NFT ecosystem.
- On March 24, 2022 , OneRare, a food metaverse platform better known as Foodverse, launched in the US. The gaming experience allows users to create and trade food NFTs, connect with other “foodies” from around the world and share culture with one another.
- On March 24, 2022, in a step toward the metaverse, Meta Platforms revealed its partnership with e-commerce technology platform VNTANA, to allow brands to create immersive 3D advertisements on social media sites Facebook and Instagram.
- On March 29, 2022, Japan-based gaming company Bandai Namco unveiled that it is building a “Gundam Metaverse,” which will encompass many brands, including its own video games, anime, music and plastic model kits. Bandai Namco hopes that third-party brands and creators will take advantage of the global community.
- On March 30, 2022, media company iHeartMedia began collaborating with Super League Gaming on metaverse ads and to create a virtual world with experiences for fans, iHeartLand. Through the collaboration, both companies hope to improve gameplay realism and connect brands to hundreds of millions of gamers.
- On March 30, 2022, cryptocurrency Shiba Inu introduced its highly anticipated alternative to Decentraland, SHIB: The Metaverse, which will feature 100,000 plots of land with varying levels of exclusivity.
- On March 24, 2022, Gucci announced a collaboration with virtual shop 10KTF to create the “Gucci Grail” project, a new NFT initiative that will be available in its Gucci Vault. Those owning custom NFTs will have the opportunity to own customized digital outfits for avatars to take across worlds.
- On March 25, 2022, singer Grimes announced the launch of a $100 million metaverse children’s book series initiative with blockchain Avalanche and OP3N, a launchpad to inspire creativity in Web 3.0.
- On March 28, 2022, tequila brand Jose Cuervo revealed that it is working on plans to build a “metadistillery,” which will open in Decentraland in summer 2022. It is collaborating with food and virtual-world designers to bring immersive experiences involving tequila to new audiences.
- On March 29, 2022, fast-food giant Arby’s filed trademarks related to the sale of virtual goods. Arby’s also plans to open a virtual restaurant that will serve real and virtual food and will be equipped with a delivery service.
- On March 29, 2022, Finland-based sustainable apparel brand Ren entered the metaverse with 2,022 carbon-neutral NFTs, powered by sustainable blockchain Polygon, with three levels of exclusivity. The collection marks the arrival of the company’s “coffee hoodie.”
- On March 30, 2022, fast-food company Wendy’s announced a partnership with Meta Platforms to create a “Wendyverse” within Meta’s virtual game, Horizon Worlds. Customers will be able to play games and purchase virtual food in an immersive environment.
- On March 30, 2022, NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway reported that it had teamed up with consumer electronics retailer Samsung to create the “first ever” smart TV NFT platform for exploring and purchasing digital collectibles and artwork. The collaboration features partnerships from popular NFT artists such as Beeple and Pak.
- On March 31, 2022, clothing retailer Gap Inc. revealed its collaboration with Harlem-based fashion designer Dapper Dan, which will feature a collection of NFTs with varying levels of exclusivity and the opportunity for owners to trade collectibles exclusively in Gap’s digital assets marketplace, GAP Threads.
- On April 1, 2022, rapper Snoop Dogg released a music video in his plot of land in The Sandbox. The video features Snoop Dogg and DJ Steve Aoki avatars, designed using in-game creator tools VoxEdit and Game Maker.
- On April 1, 2022, handbag designer (and brand) Rebecca Minkoff entered the metaverse with a livestreaming event in Roblox, where fans had the opportunity to compete to win $5,000 worth of Roblox’s virtual currency, Robux. Users who own Minkoff NFTs from a previous collection can compete in an elite portion of the game to win a pair of physical boots worth over $1,000.
- On April 4, 2022, luxury fashion label Off-White, founded by the late Virgil Abloh, began accepting cryptocurrency payments in its flagship London, Milan and Paris stores. Customers will be able to use Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance, Ripple and stablecoin Tether.
- On April 5, 2022, Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle announced that it is launching a virtual burrito builder in Roblox. The simulation will offer users the opportunity to roll their own virtual burritos. The first 100,000 users to successfully roll a burrito will receive “Burrito Bucks,” which can be used in the Chipotle app for real food.
- On April 5, 2022, apparel titan Adidas reported its partnership with cross-platform avatar developer Ready Player Me in which the two will create a AI (artificial intelligence)-generated avatar platform to celebrate the sportswear company’s Ozworld Collection. Users will be able to create their own Adidas-personalized avatars to travel across multiple virtual environments.
- On April 5, 2022, cosmetics retailer MAC launched an NFT collection to raise awareness for HIV. All proceeds (as well as 2.5% of secondary sales on OpenSea) are being donated to MAC’s Viva Glam Fund, which supports youths affected by HIV.
- On March 23, 2022, social media company Snap announced that it has acquired NextMind, a France-based technology startup that is developing brain-computer interface (BCI) headbands to allow users to control devices with thought. The investment will help Snap drive innovation in its augmented reality (AR) spectacles.
- On March 28, 2022, technology company Nemesysco revealed that it is working on voice analytics technology to track human emotions and relay them through avatar voices and sounds in the metaverse. It is aiming to create an AI engine that understands emotions.
- On March 29, 2022, payments processor Visa unveiled a creator program through which select small businesses in music, fashion and film would be given support to grow their businesses through the tokenization of assets into NFTs.
- On March 29, 2022, New Zealand-based immersive technologies startup Uneeq announced that its virtual AI influencer, Sophie, who has worked with brands such as BMW Group, would begin selling NFTs. The goal of the NFTs is to build a virtual following and community around Sophie.
- On March 29, 2022, Ronin, a (somewhat) centralized Layer 2 blockchain protocol (sidechain) built off Ethereum which powers blockchain game Axie Infinity, reported that hackers had stolen $615 million worth in cryptocurrency funds from its system.
- On March 29, 2022, AR and virtual reality (VR) headset developer Nreal, based in China, secured $60 million in funding from e-commerce giant Alibaba. Nreal designed the Nreal Light, a lightweight and comfortable headset that resembles a pair of sunglasses and is compatible with most smartphones.
- On March 30, 2022, media reports revealed that virtual idol Rozy had been enlisted by over 100 firms for marketing services in 2021, and, as a result, generated more than $12 million in income.
- On March 30, 2022, in a huge step for user friendliness and ease of metaverse access, immersive technologies company Mojo Vision revealed that it had constructed a prototype for AR contact lenses, bringing “invisible computing” a step closer to reality.
- On March 31, 2022, VR streaming service LIV raised $8.5 million to enable AR and VR streaming for creators within metaverse platforms and virtual world applications, either as their real selves or digital versions.
- On April 1, 2022, in a partnership with payment processor MoonPay, NFT marketplace OpenSea reported that it was rolling out a credit card payment program, enabling users who do not own cryptocurrency funds to begin trading and purchasing NFTs with Apple Pay, Master Card, Visa and more.
- On April 4, 2022, Fortnite developer Epic Games announced the release of “RealityScan,” a new application that utilizes AR technology to create 3D models of real-world objects. Once the object is captured, the model can be uploaded to Sketchfab, a platform for discovering 3D content.
- On April 5, 2022, gaming titan Niantic announced its acquisition of AR studio NZXR in a push to continue developing an immersive metaverse that is based on elements of the real world.