DressX, a digital fashion brand founded by three Ukrainian women and partners Farfetch, Pacsun, and Jason Wu, has partnered with Warner Music Group (WMG) to dress its recording artists in Metaverse fashion. increase.
Which artists will be released won’t be announced until May, but with the likes of Madonna, Cardi B and The Smashing Pumpkins just a few hundred on WMG’s roster, the drop is a star-studded breakthrough in design. should be The team traces its origins to the Kyiv fashion scene of the early 2010s.
“We are very excited to start our partnership with Warner Music,” said Daria Shapovalova, co-founder of DressX. “The musician’s digital merch and swag will undoubtedly become part of his fans’ digital wardrobes. Our mission is to build his digital wardrobe for everyone in the world.”
The line will allow consumers to purchase digital clothing from the artists themselves who collaborate with DressX to create their styles. These 3D and AR creations of his are wearable on Metaverse platform partners like Snapchat and Instagram. According to a Warner Music Group press release, “artists can unlock new revenue streams and create additional outlets for fans to showcase their fandom across multiple digital worlds.
Oana Ruxandra, Chief Digital Officer and EVP of Business Development at WMG, said: “With their leadership in wearables and sustainability, DressX is exactly the type of partner we need to sprint with as we build into the future.”
Shapovalova, a television journalist and host of local fashion shows at the age of 19, became the organizer and creative designer of the Mercedes Benz Kiev Fashion Days. This was her in 2016, long before the concept of designing clothes for her avatar in the Metaverse took off.
“When we started the company, the word ‘metaverse’ didn’t exist. It was just technology, and it’s still just technology. Meta is just a buzzword,” she said. “The major disruption is happening on the brink of how different industries use technology and AI, and this is exactly how fashion can be disrupted.”
Right behind Shapovalova is Natalia Modenova, a longtime friend who shares the dream of “putting Ukrainian fashion on the map”, returning to Kyiv and joining Shapovalova in California around the same time in 2016. By the time all brainstorming is complete, Krasnienko will be Head of Product for DressX when it officially launches with her three co-founders in August 2020.
“We have built this international distribution system for Ukrainian designers, and we are developing it even more actively,” said Modenova, who was repeatedly shelled by Russian forces early in the 2022 invasion. The Ukrainian city of Kharkov was, and still is, a hotbed of technological spirit. “There are a lot of talented 3D designers out there and all these people keep working because it is important to create value for the world and they do that with their work.”
Kyiv Fashion Days was interrupted when Shapovalova left in 2016, but she appeared in a video interview on Tuesday, wearing a real-world cardigan and dangling earrings in Ukrainian blue and yellow. I still do what I can to promote Ukrainian fashion. Flags, earrings that exist only as augmented reality.
“Actually, the Ukrainian fashion scene is very vibrant,” Shapovalova said as she tapped a keystroke, changing the earrings to one that resembled the Australian flag. There are a lot of them and it has always been my goal to put Ukraine on the fashion world map.”
When the company launched in 2020, it had 30 digital clothes. Today he has over 3,000, including the support Ukrainian collection. This proceeds are transferred to fashion designers who are still active in Ukraine by DressX.
According to Shapovalova, the moment Russia invaded on February 21, 2022, the company rushed to bring its digital line to market.
“Digital fashion can be a tool not only for your creativity, but also for promoting the positions you believe in.” “Fashion is a language.
Photo courtesy of DressX.
The DressX website teaches users how to take a picture of themselves to try on clothes in augmented reality. According to Modenova, this not only creates a better virtual fitting room experience for users, but also establishes some rules for how to get dressed. metaverse.
“When someone shows up at an event, their hair, makeup, dress, everything matches,” says Modenova. “In the digital world, matching is also important. Can I wear a t-shirt to the party? Yes, but it’s not the best outfit.”
Modenova doesn’t see digital fashion as a threat to real-world fashion design.
“This is just a new tool, a new possibility for creatives to create, a businessman to make a new business, and more for the average everyday consumer to curate their own vision. It’s a win-win situation,” she said. ‘Shopping.’ No threats. There are new ways to get excited, inspired, and beautiful.”
