Brand Engagement in the Metaverse: March 2023

MVFW’s Interoperability Advances

Running from March 28 to 31, MVFW takes place across multiple proto-metaverse platforms for the first time while also letting users port to their contacts’ locations.

Events are held not only in virtual real-estate-centric Decentraland (as with the inaugural MVFW – see The Brief), but in arts-and-culture-focused Spatial, with visitors able to shuttle between the two via portals placed throughout both worlds.

Additionally, geolocated augmented reality (AR) app Over, which is powered by the Ethereum blockchain and superimposes virtual assets on the real world, will host a mixed reality fashion show, with winners showcased via an AR overlay catwalk in Milan on March 31.

While true interoperability (the ability to travel seamlessly between virtual worlds, taking items with you as you traverse the metaverse) isn’t technologically possible yet, it’s a key facet of what will become the metaverse – rendering moves such as MVFW’s noteworthy. See Navigating Interoperability in Demystifying NFTs: Brand Tactics for more.

Upgrading Wayfinding: Battling Empty Spaces

MVFW also partnered with American metaverse navigation engine Lighthouse to combat issues that plagued last year’s event and have affected many metaverse activations: pockets of unoccupied space and issues finding events. Launched in December 2022 – and operational across 26 metaverse platforms, including Decentraland and The Sandbox – Lighthouse can be used by visitors to find out where their contacts are. They can then virtually transport themselves to a particular spot.

Lighthouse is currently developing a function that lets users see the concentration of attendees at all locations.

Tommy Hilfiger’s World-Hopping Iconography

A key brand pushing for interoperability at MVFW is Tommy Hilfiger. Its partnership with British Web3 specialists Emperia unites metaverse platforms, including Tommy Play on Roblox, American digital fashion specialists DressX, Decentraland and Spatial.

The central point is a giant version of the brand’s TH monogram, which appears on an Emperia-powered microsite, Decentraland and Spatial and acts as a portal from which visitors connect to other platforms. Clickable renderings of fashion items let users either buy physical products – redirecting them to Tommy Hilfiger’s e-commerce site – or digital replicas via DressX. The brand’s collaboration with Estonian cross-platform avatar creator Ready Player Me enables users to wear a Tommy Hilfiger varsity jacket across all worlds.

For more on Tommy Hilfiger’s digital fashion ventures, see A/W 22/23 Shows: Brand Engagement Spin-Offs, Collabs & New Stances.

Klossette Expands Roblox Avatar Identities & Customisation

Karlie Kloss, known for her ventures in technology and coding, established Roblox-based Fashion Klossette, which has attracted 9.2 million visits since its launch in mid-March. Set around a two-storey building reminiscent of Paris Fashion Week venue the Grand Palais, the game allows players to personalise avatars in an atelier-esque styling space – new ground for Roblox.

Clothing options are far more sophisticated than in previous Roblox activations: users can customise the colour and texture of individual pieces, which have been curated from Roblox’s existing vast (non-branded) catalogue, and then layer individual make-up (rather than choosing a full-face ‘look’). They can also pose in a photoshoot set and walk on a catwalk, with other players voting on their looks.

Aping fashion games such as Ada (Singapore) and Drest (UK) – explored in Retail: Gateways to Luxe – Kloss intends to bring partner brands into Fashion Klossette. The activations offer brands key insights into the best-performing items and are capable of influencing real-world manufacturing.