When 22-year-old Florida-born Samuel Jordan started creating Rob lox’s virtual props three years ago, it was just a hobby-when he was a teenager, he always loved creating games and characters. But as the demand for his complex earrings, headpieces, hats and virtual clothing increased, Jordan turned digital design into a thriving virtual fashion business. Fast-forwarding in 2022, it is one of Rob lox’s top sellers, with sales of 24 million units to date, $ 1 million in sales by 2021, and collaboration with brands such as Stella McCartney and Forever 21 to enter Web 3. We are supporting. ..
A similar success story is about Tisha McGuffey, a US digital fashion designer who founded her virtual fashion house Blueberry eight years ago after an online user noticed a virtual outfit created for use in the Second Life Met averse. is. In response, McGuffey has begun creating works for a variety of platforms, including Rob lox. “In the first year I did this as a hobby, I earned about $ 60,000, so I was completely devoted to blueberries and the following year I earned a million dollars.” Mishit focused on his own design. But he collaborated with luxury brand Jonathan Sikkim on the Met averse Fashion Week collection.
According to McGuffey, blueberry sales have been stagnant for several years after launch, with annual sales stable at around $ 1 million. With the growing popularity of user-generated content platforms like Rob lox, monetizing digital fashion has become much easier. Blueberry is developing in-game mods for a variety of games such as Rob lox, Fortnight and Spatial, so sales are expected to reach $ 1.8 million this year.
By 2022, research firm Marketer will have more than 3 billion gamer worldwide, more than one-third of the world’s population. As the interest in gaming fashion grows, digital fashion houses grow with the unique look they create for people’s avatars.
One such startup is Republic. This is a UK digital fashion house that helps you enter the game, NFT and Web 3 by designing custom virtual collections for fashion brands such as Coach, Adidas, Alex Rigatoni and Esther Mayas. Prior to launching the Virtual Fashion House, Republic founder James Robert worked as a stylist and designer for Bulgari and Louis Vuitton. After spending time in Southeast Asia, she switched to her virtual design. There she witnessed the environmental and social implications of making physical clothing and saw her teenage son engrossed in games like Fortnight.
Republic will turn the brand’s physical products into NFTs or in-game handhelds for various games and meta verses such as Ready Player Me, Decentralized, Zeppelin, Sandbox, Fortnight, Rob lox, etc., depending on the brand’s target audience. I am an expert in this. “For example, the Asos consumer base is so young that it’s probably like the Rob lox or Fortnight route for them,” says Goober. “For buses, they may be suitable for a slightly older decentralized market and because it’s a higher luxury price point.” Republiqe then allows customers to convert those digital assets into NFTs or in-game handheld devices. Consider how to monetize. The company can also create virtual accessories for brands. It allows you to present virtual images to influences and create images for e-commerce.
For mass-market brands, go for low-cost, high-volume digital mods that can sell tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of skins for $1 to $3 per game on games like Fortnite. Tell. In terms of luxury goods, Decentraland is a place that sells digital fashion like NFTs priced above $200 to $2,000 but in much smaller quantities.
Goober expects Republic’s sales in 2022 to increase 250% year-over-year to roughly $500,000. He doesn’t think he’s competing directly with other virtual fashion houses like The Fabric ant or Dress X, but at least for now, he says he’s raising awareness about the potential of the industry.
This possibility can become the main one. The University of the Creative Arts (UCA) in the south of England is one of the first institutions in the world to launch a digital fashion design course in response to student demand, and is director of the Fashion Textile Program at the U CA that helped launch the course. Neil says. Bottle. In 2021. “Our students are very well prepared for the future. When they go to a job interview, they probably know more than the people interviewing them,” he says. In its first year, the course collaborated with Far fetch on a virtual design project. This summer, Far fetch has already hired two students to graduate.
Demonstrate the potential of digital fashion
The founders agree that educating employees and potential clients remains the biggest hurdle for digital fashion designers, even as Web 3 becomes more discover able. “I have a serious business and I realized that it generates great income, but a few years ago I thought why nobody talks about it in this way. Isn’t it?” says Jordan. “People were still behaving like child’s play. Jordan has been hard at work on LinkedIn and Twitter to communicate his work and the relevance of Rob lox to brands looking to shape a culture. brand started immediately.
“Some of our creators have been creating digital fashion for 10 years (long before brands caught on to these trends), but now many creators are creating pieces and experiences from leading brands. It’s in demand,” said Christine Wooten, vice president of Global Brands. . Association in Rob lox. “The next generation of fashion designers firmly believe that everyone is holding on to Rob lox, that it can be the creator.” In 2021, the creator community earned $359 million from Rob lox in 2022. In just one quarter, that’s up 24% year over year to $147.1 million.
“One of the first challenges was learning to speak corporate talk,” Jordan says. “It was definitely learning how they speak, and then learning to educate in a way that translated well.” Rob lox takes a hefty commission on in-game sales, so Jordan says he earned $1 million from around $10 million worth of virtual fashion items sold last year.
All Rob lox players are spending about $ 1 to get R $ 100 at roux at the current exchange rate. When a virtual item is sold, 30% of Roux will be sent to the creator of the item, 40% to the seller of the item (for many sellers, including Jordan, Rob lox will be the seller), and 30% to Rob lox. Will be. Next, you need to exchange roux for dollars. Rob lox also charges a fee. Therefore, if you sell roux for 100 rupees for about $ 1, the creator can leave for 10.5 cents after conversion.
Another issue is how to avoid bureaucratic procedures related to corporate decisions. The designer agrees. For gaming platforms, it’s important to repeat the design based on community feedback, in-game, and platforms such as Discord, TikTok, and Twitter. However, brands can take a long time to approve design decisions, eliminating the possibility of iterations and community feedback.
“I’m sure I personally know at least 10% of my clients,” says McGuffey. Blueberries present the concept to customers early in the process and use user feedback to inform them of design decisions. “It works both ways because it makes my community feel part of things, but it also means making the products they buy.”
According to the company, Blueberry’s business is global, with 40% in the United States and the rest in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Its user base is primarily female, with an average age of 22 years. It is estimated that women make up about 45% of the gaming community.
Blueberry COO Catherine Manuel, as a gamer, understands the needs of the gaming community for virtual fashion designers, especially when it comes to women.
“Although player stats are gender-specific, game design has traditionally been dominated by men. Mishap’s secret is that she’s the lead developer designing for women who have long been ignored. “There is only one person on the Blueberry team,” McGuffey proudly adds.
At Roblox, most designers designed “lock-in” body types, ignoring the fact that players were wearing women’s backpacks, so none of the accessories fit them, he said. Jordan agrees. “It’s about understanding the player details needed for modding,” he says.
Marketing in the Metaverse
Designers say word-of-mouth is the best tool for promoting virtual fashion. This could mean that players are recommending products to each other on TikTok, YouTube, Discord, Twitter, or users are chatting in-game. According to Jordan, the virtual world of fashion is, in a sense, more competitive than real fashion. “There are 20 competing stores on Main Street. In digital space, one million creators can compete in the same place.” Virtual designers use and subscribe to products to expand their reach. To do this, you need to trust virtual and real influences (IRLs).
Samuel Jordan, Misc ha McGuffey and James Robert have built successful businesses through virtual design, game sales and gorgeous collaboration. Photo: Samuel Jordan, Misc ha McGuffey, James Robert
Blueberry uses virtual influences and virtual placements from fashion magazines such as Homely Magazine (sold in Second Life Met averse). According to McGuffey, after seeing items from other gamer and virtual influences, people are ready to spend up to 12 hours buying the latest version in various Meta verses outside of Blueberry’s online store.
Republic worked with French jewelry store Bonnier Frees to create the Decentralized store for Met averse Fashion Week and with brands such as Coach. This helped to boost the business significantly and showed the potential of the Met averse to luxury brands. “We receive the application every day,” says Robert, who employs three more employees to join a team of nine.
Important: As Web 3 matures and games evolve, the demand for virtual booms increases. Young entrepreneurs are building fast-growing fashion brands by combining their expertise in 3D clothing design with a deeper understanding of web3 games and the community than traditional fashion and luxury brands. For the valuable Digital marketing service contact the Mji Marketing Now.
