Digital Fashion Ecosystem Map 2023
Ultimate guide to digital fashion platforms, founders, brands, designers and communities
Let's take a stroll together through the vibrant ecosystem of digital fashion, a place where your interaction goes beyond just looking.
Picture this: brands and designers are crafting a new digital fashion wave, where you don’t just see—you actively participate, interact, and experience.
Imagine being part of exciting collaborations that blend physical experiences, social media, and gaming, breaking free from the digital-only box.
In this article, I’m going to explore the adventures of those who are actively shaping digital fashion landscape, making it a lively, interactive, and immersive experience for all of us.
Impact of Digital Fashion
Disrupting traditional fashion model: the fashion as we know it is about to change forever. Consumers are less interested in basic e-commerce and shopping experience. Brands that embrace Web3 technologies are going to be the winners.
New era of branding: to reach GenZ consumers fashion brands must understand how GenZ wants to consume fashion and deliver. Digital awareness, virtual try-ones, avatars.
Presence in the metaverse: a new fashion capital is being created online. Platforms like Spacial, Roblox, Zepeto offer enormous potential to connect with fashion consumers.
Mix of digital and physical: digital fashion doesn’t mean the end of physical fashion. Digital fashion is about enhancing the brand value of physical fashion and making consumers buy more.
Equal opportunity: there are no limits in digital fashion. Designers are creating their own collections and runways at very low cost. There is no need to be in New York, London, Paris or Milan. Digital fashion is accessible to everyone.
Ultimate Recap of the Digital Fashion Ecosystem Map 2023
Digital Fashion Platforms
Digital Fashion Founders
Digital Fashion Brands
Digital Fashion Designers
Digital Fashion Thought Leaders
Digital Fashion Communities
1. Digital Fashion Platforms
Digital fashion platforms have been making headlines in 2023. Hosting big live events and trending online.
Platforms Exclusible and Spatial have features like avatar customization and virtual event spaces. They enable users to engage with artists' works, explore showrooms, undertake quests. They build visually stunning maps full of quests and games.
Platform Zepeto is notable for big collaborations. For example, Gucci partnered with Zepeto to personalize avatars and virtual world. Zepeto users can dress their 3D avatars in pieces from Gucci’s latest collections and explore the Gucci Villa space. This collaboration went viral online increasing brand awareness.
Digital fashion platforms are focusing in building interactive user experience.
Platforms
2. Digital Fashion Founders
Digital fashion founders are vibrant community builders actively engaging through their personal social medias.
They have a very diverse back-ground. From serial tech entrepreneurs to big-fashion careers. Mostly concentrated in Europe and North-America.
The most impressive is how open minded digital fashion founders are. Sharing ideas, listening to others, and contributing to discussions online and offline. Connecting with the younger generation.
Their mission is to solve the limitations of present fashion and to make digital fashion go main-stream.
Founders
Benoit Pagotto, Co-founder of RTFKT Studios | LinkedIn | Twitter
Olivier Moingeon, Co-founder & CCO of Exclusible | LinkedIn | Twitter
Kerry Murphy, Founder & CEO of The Fabricant | LinkedIn | Twitter
Lili Eva Bartha, Founder & CEO of GN3RA | LinkedIn | Instagram
Andrea Abrams, Founder & CEO of Phygicode | LinkedIn | Twitter
Clare Tattersall, Founder of Digital Fashion Week New York | LinkedIn
Daria Shapovalova, Co-founder of DressX | LinkedIn | Instagram
Leslie Holden, Co-Founder of The Digital Fashion Group | LinkedIn | Twitter
Louise Laing, Founder of Phygital Twin | LinkedIn | Instagram
3. Digital Fashion Brands
Digital fashion brands really get it how to do branding in Web3.
Brands like Mutani and Phygital Twin are garnering attention by doing physical runways and going beyond digital.
While others like RTFKT and Chrryt create NFTs, that are unique, exclusive and help verify fashion item authenticity.
Brand SYKY collaborates with renowned designers by creating special collections and partnering on PR.
Digital fashion brands consider what GenZ desires and offers more than just fashion items. They actively utilize the augmented reality (AR)-based store experience, avatars, digital ownership.
Established fashion can gain a lot by collaborating with rising digital fashion brands.
Brands
4. Digital Fashion Designers
Digital fashion designers, such as Julia Blanc and Stephy Fung, are not merely creators but influential innovators. Shaping the trajectory of the industry with their compelling works.
Take, for instance, Isabelle Udo, a founder and creative director who elevated the digital fashion narrative by introducing a hologram runway at the last Amsterdam Fashion Week. Seamlessly weaving technology and creativity into a mesmerizing visual spectacle.
The most successful digital fashion designer also know how to build their personal brand on social medias. Posting actively on LinkedIn and Instagram. Sharing their design works, design process and activities.
The essence of digital fashion design transcends aesthetic appeal. It is about captivating, engaging, and fostering connections. These designers, thus, are pioneering, influencing, and perpetually reshaping the fashion narrative.
Designers
5. Digital Fashion Thought Leaders
What does it mean to be a “digital fashion thought leader”?
In this category I’ve included the most active experts on LinkedIn. Entrepreneurs, advisors, investors, and analysts. Crafting social media threads, writing articles, participating in panel talks.
Digital fashion is at the super early stage. There is a lack of quality and in depth information. You cannot find it on Vogue or ELLE. That’s where digital fashion thought leaders come-in. Exploring the fashion frontier and explaining it to us.
Thought Leaders
Matthew Drinkwater, Head of Fashion Innovation Agency | LinkedIn | Twitter
Alex van Gestel, VP Consumer Products at EPAM Systems | LinkedIn | Twitter
Belinda Pham, VC Investor, Operations Manager of The Sandbox | LinkedIn | Twitter
Stefan Kovach, Strategic Advisor at ATP Tour | LinkedIn | Twitter
Julien R. (Julien Louis Rubin Abraham Rosilio), Head of Growth & NFT Lead at DRESSX | LinkedIn | Instagram
Karan Gupta, Ecommerce Content Specialist at Nike | LinkedIn
Ward de Kruiff, Global Head of Web3 and Metaverse at EPAM Systems | LinkedIn | Twitter
Tracy Greenan, Founder & CEO of AURA (AURELIA + ICARUS™) | LinkedIn | Instagram
6. Digital Fashion Communities
Digital fashion communities are currently being born.
The most notable is the Metaverse Fashion Council that includes over 100 industry leaders.
I see a lot of potential to grow into the scale of NFT communities. Could the next “Bored Ape Yacht Club” be about digital fashion?
The community's power is immense. My hope is for digital fashion communities to grow and to spread positive vibes🐧
Communities
Conclusion
Digital fashion invites us on an experiential journey, far beyond mere visual appreciation, into a realm where consumers can immerse and interact meaningfully.
At this crucial intersection, it is vital not to be afraid to navigate through unexplored territories and innovate.
The pioneers highlighted in the Digital Fashion Ecosystem Map, already the future path of fashion.
Together, let’s make digital fashion go main-stream.
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Very informative mapping Yejin <3