Dive Brief:

• Adding to the metaverse buzz, Tokens.com, a crypto-asset investment firm, announced that more than 60 brands will participate in Metaverse Fashion Week from March 24 to March 27, according to a Wednesday press release. Decentraland, a virtual social platform, is hosting the Metaverse Fashion Week.
• The event will feature Grimes and Auroboros as musical guests. Among the brands taking part in the event are General Motors, Dolce & Gabbana, Guo Pei, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, Estée Lauder, Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen, per the announcement. 
• The event will take place on virtual real estate owned by Tokens.com’s subsidiary, Metaverse Group, an NFT-based metaverse real estate startup, according to the press release.

Dive Insight:

Though the metaverse concept is in its early stages, brands and retailers have been experimenting with what they perceive to be the next iteration of the internet. Walmart filed multiple trademark applications in December 2021 indicating that the retailer is planning to develop cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens. That same month, Forever 21 partnered with Roblox to introduce the Forever 21 Shop City, where users can own and oversee stores while competing to become the "top shop."

Now, Decentraland's Metaverse Fashion Week has the aim of providing a space for a new era in fashion. Similar to other international fashion weeks, it will showcase new collections and host presentations, discussions, concerts, parties and film installations, albeit virtually. 

"When I founded my namesake brand in 1985, I never imagined I’d see a time when fashion weeks would be held in a 3D, fully virtual world," Tommy Hilfiger said in a statement regarding Metaverse Fashion Week. "As we further explore the metaverse and all it has to offer, I’m inspired by the power of digital technology and the opportunities it presents to engage with communities in fascinating, relevant ways."

But while brands are eager to reach consumers in the metaverse, investing in it comes with risks. In a February report, Gartner cautioned that the metaverse technology is too new and disconnected for companies to invest in one area. Moreover, it’s unclear whether brands can prevent themselves from appearing alongside hate speech in the metaverse. As tech behemoths like Meta, Microsoft and Google turn their attention to the metaverse, questions have risen regarding whether the metaverse will worsen the problem of harassment and assault online, The New York Times reports. 

Though Gartner predicts that a quarter of consumers will use the metaverse by 2026, research from Wunderman Thompson Intelligence suggests that most consumers don’t know what the metaverse is. The firm’s survey found that even though 76% of consumers depend on technology every day, only 38% said they knew of the metaverse.