IMVU will host a digital fashion show and showcase for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on May 27 to May 28. The event will feature seven emerging fashion designers as part of the company’s goal of creating a social metaverse.
Owned by Together Labs, IMVU has a community of millions of fashion-oriented fans who create, buy, and sell digital items. It’s a social platform where young folks create their own avatars, and dressing up those avatars is one of their favorite activities.
Back in January, Together Labs announced its formation, with divisions including IMVU and VCoin, as well as a funding round of $35 million. Meanwhile, NFTs have exploded in the market, as artists, musicians, and game developers alike have been selling unique and rare items that are authenticated using blockchain, the secure and transparent digital ledger.
The show will feature fashion designers Collina Strada, Mowalola, Mimi Wade, Freak City, Gypsy Sport, My Mum Made It, and BruceGlen. The fashion designers will collaborate with creators from the IMVU community and will host a fully immersive and digital experience that turns a real-life runway into something virtual.
The IMVU Virtual Fashion Show will be streamed on IMVU’s YouTube channel and Instagram Live starting at 1 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday, May 27 and Friday, May 28. All of the designers’ digital items will be available for purchase by IMVU players starting Friday, May 28.
Additionally, select exclusive items will be featured for auction as NFTs on IMVU’s OpenSea marketplace. After purchase, the NFTs can then be worn on the owner’s IMVU avatar as a one-
of-a-kind item that can be modeled in the IMVU metaverse.
By offering access to the digital world to emerging designers, IMVU will bring fashion design into the metaverse in ways that have not been explored until now. The event will feature custom digital rooms built on the IMVU platform for designers to debut pre-collections and other digital items that could never be created in real life. The event will also feature well-known fashion icon Princess Gollum interacting with fans and commenting on the collections.
Lindsay Anne Aamodt, IMVU senior director of marketing, said in a message that the company wants to show the world that real-life fashion drives meaningful connection, creativity, and expression in virtual worlds too. She said that IMVU is proud to be a pioneer in digital fashion and is excited to take the vision of these designers to millions of users around the world. She noted that anyone can create unique fashions and market them on IMVU to make real money with the creator tools it provides.
“Fashion has always been a pillar of the IMVU community. It is beyond art and digital dress-up because it’s a value of true self-expression that brings people together which is our core mission. This fashion show is the beginning of yet another industry finding growth and opportunity in the metaverse,” Aamodt said. “We knew we were onto something with the creativity of last year’s music festivals, but fashion has always been at the heart of all our efforts. To bring real world fashion to life in this digital space is not only relevant but game changing to the future of the fashion industry.”
The NFTs are novelty pieces under each brand label, and they offer access to those who are high fashion fans to be able to purchase one-of-a-kind items from their favorite brands. Collina Strada NFTs will be sold on the website hic et nunc in order to adhere to the brand’s commitment to sustainability. IMVU has more than 40,000 destinations and a catalog of 50 million items.