As various industries are being created, it is becoming increasingly obvious that technology is the way to go. The fashion industry as a whole has been overlooked and hasn’t made any noticeable leaps and bounds in creating new paths of innovation. Little has changed over time in the fashion industries, so supply chains and ways of doing business have been stagnant. Perhaps storefronts are not as popular as people get used to shopping online, but pop-up shops are similar to how business has always been done. Instead of having to go somewhere to sell, technology is making a change that hasn’t been seen in the fashion industry before. Industries need to follow consumers, and they are moving online through gaming and new currencies. In order to grow with the new fashion trends, take a look at this guide to Blockchains, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Digital Fashion:
Blockchains
Blockchains are kind of hard to understand unless you are already in the technology industry, but they are a technology itself that enables different innovative builds such as luxury authentication and creating a significant life span to products. Blockchains signify a new world and new ways of commerce. Digital integration is important for the future of commerce, and this is no different in the fashion industry. Instead of face-to-face sales and the use of digital advertising, moving to innovative forms of commerce will lead to a new fashion industry that works alongside gaming technologies and new currencies.
Digital Fashion
Digital Fashion is very new. It is not unlikely that the fashion industry will start to design and create fashion products digitally before turning those pieces into physical products. With the rise of online gaming and media apps, digital currency and digital transactions have become even more normalized than they already were. Integrating fashion into online games with virtual realities where you can make fashion choices in the game brings the industry into places where it may not have been so important previously.
Besides online games, digital fashion allows users to digitally “wear” products and then post those photos onto social media apps. This, along with photoshop, is becoming increasingly popular and less taboo. It allows users to imagine what the fabrics look and feel like, working as a marketing agent if the products were ever made into physical existence. With the increasing use of filters and social media apps that use them so easily such as Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok, anticipate a long and interesting lifespan to unfold with digital fashion. Increase in AR components
NFTs
The most common form of NFT is cryptocurrency. Though it is not a tangible item, people are making millions of dollars because of the increased awareness about it. The way in which this happens is that the NFT needs to be assigned value and meaning. Like cryptocurrency, fashion NFTs could be exchanged for goods and services, or they could be considered investments such as art, that can be shown off and appreciated.
Similar to the art world, a fashion NFT would most likely be important as a receipt and proof of ownership. Though you may not want to show it to everyone in order to ensure its protection, there is vanity in knowing that you own such an exclusive piece at such a high price point.
Possible ideas for fashion NFTs could include limited edition pieces, archived items for collectors, one-off pieces, or pieces designed specifically for NFTs instead of mass consumption. Though a digital NFT could prove this ownership, it is highly likely that fashion will always want a physical component. Merging the digital world with the physical world is inevitable in fashion.
At Scaling Retail, we’ve launched brick-and-mortar and e-commerce businesses all over the world. Questions about building, launching, or growing your fashion business? Send an email to hello@scalingretail.com for a complimentary consultation.