Web3 had a small, yet important presence at Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week 2022 consisted of 64 shows and 42 presentations, many of which demonstrated the future of fashion. From the sprayed-on dress worn by supermodel Bella Hadid at the Coperni show to upcycled fresh looks consisting of recycled garments, Paris Fashion Week brilliantly highlighted trends for upcoming seasons. 

While the majority of Fashion Week attendees and designers celebrated physical elements — such as in-person fashion shows and tangible designs — a handful of creators incorporated Web3 features to demonstrate fashion’s enormous digital potential.

Web3 democratizes fashion

Shedding light on this, Victor Weinsanto, a French designer who launched his brand in 2020 after spending two years working with the famous Jean Paul Gaultier, told Cointelegraph that virtual worlds allow creators to design without having to use real fabrics and materials. “In a sense this ensures sustainability, even though a lot of energy and time is used to create such collections,” he said. 

Weinsanto revealed his first digital collection M3TALOVE immediately following his fashion show that took place in the Marais district of Paris on Sept. 26. Unlike traditional fashion week experiences, The M3TALOVE collection was showcased as 3D holograms within a series of glass cases housed in a dark room, equipped with bright lights and a DJ. Such a setting seemed appropriate, as the collection was a collaboration between Weinsanto and K-Pop girl band Lightsum.

Richard Hobbs, founder and chief operating officer of Brand New Vision (BNV) — the Web3 platform behind M3TALOVE — told Cointelegraph that the idea for this collection was inspired by the possibilities of merging K-pop culture with fashion. 

“This was a collaborative experience with Victor presenting his concepts to each of the eight members of Lightsum, who then gave their comments and suggestions before BNV converted the sketches into digital outfits, along with individual customized avatars for the eight girls.”

Weinsanto added that the M3TALOVE collection was one of the best ways to use nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to showcase a collaboration between music, the Metaverse and fashion. “I wanted a collection that could be wearable, but still have details that would be impossible to incorporate in real life.” 

Going beyond realistic concepts is indeed one of the most important features offered by Web3 fashion. Hobbs remarked that…