Thread by @WarcMeinstein

0/ One of the most exciting and underappreciated areas in this #Metaverse moment is #digitalfashion

I believe that digital fashion sales will exceed physical fashion sales in my lifetime driven by at least 5 converging trends

a 🧵

1/ #Digitalfashion Driver 1

Increasing hours and attention online

"People spend their $ where they spend their attention" - @rdavidmullins, founder of @AgletApp

2/ Post-pandemic, the avg person spends 6+ hours per day online & rising (#zoomers avg more than 10)

No surprise that eCommerce sales increased to over 20% of total retail sales during the #COVID19 lockdown. While this number returned to around 14% in Q12021, the trend remains

3/ #Digitalfashion 1st appeared in games like @LouisVuitton skins in @LeagueOfLegends.

W/ +3 billion gamers worldwide, the collective attention spent in games & $ on virtual goods is already staggering. @FortniteGame alone generated $5B+ in 2020

4/ #DigitalFashion Driver 2

Virtual status is still real

We all flex on social media, altering our lives to create inflated avatars. While their fans never see the full story, online influencers still carry clout

I learned this first hand w Fyre bit.ly/3nBdt3u

5/ Virtual influencers like @lilmiquela (s/o visionary @whatdotcd) are further proof of the blurred line between "virtual" & "real" status

Miquela may be virtual, but she's still real, as evidenced by the love her fans have for her.

More on this here: apple.co/3czGohO

6/ #DigitalFashion Driver 3

#NFTs are provably scarce

Brands like @CHANEL understand the important role that scarcity plays in driving both perceived & monetary value.

bit.ly/3DDDYLc

7/ The first fashion #NFT ever sold was Iridescence, a virtual dress designed by @the_fab_ric_ant & co-launched by @dapperlabs. It sold for $9,600 in May 2019. Here's how it looks 🔥

8/ Only 2 years later, @dolcegabbana showed the power of luxury fashion + #NFTs with the sale of a 9 piece collection to @RED___DAO for $5.6M on platform @UNXD_NFT! After this success, expect more brands to follow.

Scarcity + Status is a winning formula
nyti.ms/3HHEPNm

9/ #DigitalFashion Driver 4

Improvements in AR Hardware

But right now the scope of what collectors can do with #Digitalfashion is limited?

Soon they'll be able to wear these items in the "metaverse," but the real accelerant will be the ability to flex the digital over real

10/ Solving AR hardware is probably one of the most challenging opportunities in tech today. Like Zuck says, we need to fit a supercomputer In a glasses frame

zd.net/3FqRvGq

But with billions in R&D mobilized to solve this problem, we’re going to see progress

11/ For example, @Snap recently launched the 4th gen of their spectacles product bit.ly/3nyEKDC

& it is rumored that @Apple is whipping up their own competitor bit.ly/32mkRaH

12/ In a world with ubiquitous AR, everyone will be able to flex their entire portfolio of digital items draped over their physical form plus swap them instantly for any occasion.

There will be an explosion in creative expression

13/ #DigitalFashion Driver #5

Climate Change

According to a recent from @Princeton, the fashion industry is responsible for more annual carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. This, of course, is unsustainable

bit.ly/3oMlCRT

14/ Zoomers have firmly established climate change as the core problem of their generation & this will impact their purchasing decisions.

A study by First Insight revealed that 73% of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products

cnb.cx/3CBlYzy

15/ As #digitalfashion grows to be more important to consumers than physical fashion, the look of the clothing on our bodies will matter less. This will accelerate current trends towards recycled materials

bit.ly/3nAsMcz

16/ This future is possible and we're building it. Some problems that need to be solved first:

Interoperability of #nfts across metaverses, currently each virtual world has its own specifications.

Crosschain #NFT solutions

Portable digital identity

What else?

17/ So how big can the market for #DigitalFashion become?

As @rewkang, my partner at @MechanismCap said:

Much bigger than we can imagine

bit.ly/3kUGFAE