When Ashley McDonnell got her first taste of fashion – at an exhibition of Christian Dior's most iconic designs, in London 13 years ago – it set her on a path to pursue a career in the thriving, billion dollar industry.
However, as she told Brendan Courtney on The Ryan Tubridy Show, scores of up-and-coming fashion lovers will likely get their first taste for fashion through a very different medium: the metaverse.
McDonnell, as well as being director of Global Digital Media for luxury goods company PUIG, is the host of the Tech Powered Luxury podcast, which is also a module she teaches at NEOMA Business School and HEIC Paris in France. Her work has allowed her to work within the metaverse, which is fast becoming a world stage for designers and companies.
If you're wondering what the metaverse is, exactly, you're not alone.
"The way that I like to explain it is, imagine a couple of years ago when we were first explaining social media or even the internet and it seemed very scary as well, and we were saying 'how do I enter the internet?'" McDonnell said.
"Now we say 'the metaverse' but I think in a couple of years we're not going to say that. It's going to be like the actual internet and social media where we say 'I'm online, are you online, are you on this platform?'"
McDonnell predicts we'll come to use platforms within the metaverse, such as Decentraland, which launched Metaverse Fashion Week.
To explore the Metaverse, users will need avatars – digital representations of us – which naturally open up the question of what will we wear? Particularly when it comes to the types of events taking place in the metaverse now, which includes everything from designer fashion shows to Madonna concerts.
"So many artists and musicians today, and especially during the pandemic, wanted to connect with their audiences, bring them somewhere live, so not just a livestream like we've seen all over Instagram and Facebook, but something where you could go and interact", McDonnell explained.
"It's really like gaming, actually. It's very similar to online gaming and a lot of teenagers today that are active on Xbox or Playstation, they're playing live anyway and they're playing with friends who maybe they've never met or friends who live down the road who are also live and in that game."
The metaverse offers a new area for internet users to meet and spend time together, McDonnell said.
"What's happening today is that the time that we spend on social media, the millennials and the baby boomers, that's shifting to metaverse for Gen Z. They're less interested in the likes of Instagram because they're like, why would I post a picture of something that's happened when instead I can go and actually engage with my friends live online?
"It's live, it's interactive and when it comes to fashion it's super expressive", McDonnell added. "So imagine you're in there walking around and someone sees you at one of the events, they can actually click on you and see the details of your outfit. If they want they can actually buy it, as well. So there's a whole world of influencers in the metaverse."
Not all fashion costs money in the metaverse, as there are many free clothing options for those who are just starting out. However, there are many young and established designers creating collections both in the physical world and the metaverse. While the physically collection might be incredibly expensive, the virtual one is likely much more affordable.
"This is a new revenue stream for designers and it's a great way to test and get feedback on their designs, by launching them in here. When you're dressing your avatar you can go into Marketplace and you can see all of the different fashion items that are available to wear digitally."
Aoife Mc Namara, one of Ireland's most promising young designers, is set to do a "twin release" for her next collection, launching physically as well as on the metaverse, culminating with presenting the collection at New York Fashion Week.
Based on Mc Namara's own cottage atelier in Adare, Co Limerick, the designer is working with McDonnell to create a "meta-cottage", which McDonnell says is the first of its kind, where users can visit and view the collection.
To listen to the full interview, click the link above.
