Is fashion ready for augmented reality?

The world’s first global augmented reality (AR) fashion festival, coined WeAR, kicked off on Friday. Timed to coincide with the opening bell of New York Fashion Week (NYFW), the event is the latest attempt at bringing emerging tech to the fashion month calendar. But is fashion ready for AR? Orchestrating the concept is Cult, a London and New York-based creative agency and the brains behind Metaverse Beauty Week (MBW). Like MBW, WeAR hopes to meld the digital with the physical via nine geo-located digital activities – all open to the public – across New York, London, Paris, and Milan. Each digital activation is synced with its local fashion week where, after its brief run, the local experience will vanish before the festival moves to the next city. “In a world where CGI and video games dominate the cultural landscape, we’re bringing that same level of engagement to real-life cityscapes,” says WeAR founder and former head of Decentraland’s Metaverse Fashion Week, Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro. “From the early stages of WeAR, I always believe we are entering the era of unleashing virtual worlds in the public space.” Casimiro started the project in 2023, after recognizing a gap in the fashion sector for immersive and avant-garde AR experiences that aligned with the fashion set. Earlier this year, the initiative’s team brought on board several Web3 experts, including strategists Lorenza Sabtini and Ricardo Almeida, and founder of metaverse studio Giro, Raphael Bausch. Participants in the debut festival include luxury player Balmain, which will showcase its collaboration with Space Runners via a colossal installation in Manhattan. Accessories label Pinko is set to unveil an AR-powered project during Milan Fashion Week while, in Paris, Roblox and creative studio Sawhorse Productions will take over the city's iconic River Seine. For the festival’s London stint, Cult will invite guests to a special geo-AR activation taking place at Shoreditch Arts Club, London, inspired by the city’s rich tapestry of icons across the art and fashion space. The event will culminate in a panel talk on the future of fashion with Red-Eye, followed by an afterparty open to the public. According to Precedence Research, the global AR market was worth $56.3 billion in 2023. While AR-enabled experiences have been cropping up during the fashion week calendar, such as Hong Kong-based FabriX’s collaboration with Selfridges on AR ‘try-on’ mirrors, the tech is yet to make a real stir among the style crowd. Can WeAR achieve what other attempts have failed to do? Casimiro thinks so. “I felt we needed to invade the cities, connecting physical and digital creators, users, brands and their consumers. WeAR is that gate,” she says. Co-founder Lorenza Sabatini concurs. For Sabatini, democratizing the fashion week front row was a key priority when envisioning how the festival could engage audiences with AR. “WeAR breaks down barriers, ensuring that no matter where someone is in the world, they feel like they're in the front row,” Sabatini says. “Whether as part of the VIP list or simply part of the moment. WeAR is a space where everyone is invited to connect and engage." It’s not an easy task, but AR has proven to be one of the more promising tools for captivating consumers. With hype around Web3 dissipating, could WeAR be the key to reigniting its buzz? Meta Bites Balenciaga's Music division has released a new NFC-connected capsule collection in collaboration with Italian singer and style icon Mina. Dropping on September 19, owners can scan their physical merch to access the first single from the artist’s forthcoming album, which will be released to the public in November. Mina's partnership with Balenciaga marks the musician's first time collaborating with a fashion house, and the first time she has offered official merch of any kind. Blackpink the Game has unveiled its first-ever physical store in Hong Kong, after reaching 6 million downloads since its launch last year. The pop-up shop, open from this week to January 2 next year, will house merch and exclusive collectibles for fans, including accessories, phone holders, portable mirror pendants, and pillows. Nars is set to release a standalone metaverse destination to commemorate the launch of its new Explicit lipstick line. Created in partnership with Journee, the virtual Maison Explicit experience will enable users to virtually try on products, unlock rewards, and purchase goods. It will be available in Europe from the middle of this month.

Is fashion ready for augmented reality?

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Published September 08, 2024

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Is fashion ready for augmented reality?