Pioneers of Tomorrow's Fashion Lexicon

Leanne, how do you envision the fusion of fashion and the metaverse enhancing storytelling capabilities for designers?

Leanne Elliott-Young: „The metaverse already exists – we already live in a massively interconnected space where online and offline networks intertwine with each other. It’s not about us entering a single metaverse where we exist solely. ‘The metaverse’ allows us to enhance our experience of the digital: we can use AR to add digital layers to our physical world, we can build avatars with a range of dials and mods to more accurately represent a diverse range of body types and gender identities. These digital layers can also be applied to anyone, anywhere - you can say goodbye to high fashion being exclusively available to sample size models. 

This is all even without mentioning the potential for co-creation. The web3 era is one where users are valued as co-producers of content, and not just consumers. The web3 model thrives when we see fair ownership prioritized alongside a true community mentality. This is what we are striving for with the creation of the IoDF platform (watch this space!).

This fusion offers a chance to create immersive narratives where fashion becomes a vital part of virtual worlds. By combining garments with digital landscapes, designers can craft interactive experiences that go beyond physical limits. It's about making fashion more than just clothing – it's about making it an essential part of the story, changing how we connect with style and self-expression.“

Can you elaborate on how designers can leverage digital platforms to establish a more profound emotional connection with their audience?

Leanne Elliott-Young: „Leveraging digital platforms offers designers a unique opportunity to foster deeper emotional connections with their audience – particularly through co-creation. Digital assets can sit in a variety of places: in (multiple) games, metaverses, worn and shared as an AR filter, as an asset to be played with and adapted through co-creation. Buy one asset and it easily becomes multiple assets! At IoDF, we believe in creating longevity through the nurturing of communities through art. By utilizing digital platforms, designers can engage with their audience in real-time, sharing the creative journey and behind-the-scenes insights. The co-creation aspects of our upcoming platform really tap into this – allowing users to engage directly with the assets and step into a role of maker as well as buyer. The ability for users to co-create with the rest of the community, as well as with brands, creates a transparency and accessibility which allows consumers to feel intimately connected to the artistic process. To clarify an adjacent point, co-creation doesn’t only mean creating from scratch or even from building blocks but extends to wearing another users’ or brands’ digital fashion.

Additionally, through wider interactive experiences, such as virtual exhibitions or immersive showcases, designers can invite their audience to become active participants. This involvement transforms passive observers into engaged collaborators, contributing to the creation and evolution of the narrative. By embracing the metaverse and digital realms, designers can create meaningful, lasting relationships with their audience, building a sense of belonging and emotional resonance that extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of fashion.” 

You mentioned that fashion isn't just about cloth, but about experiential constructions around it. Could you explain how this notion translates into the metaverse?

 Leanne Elliott-Young: “Fashion has never been just about the physical materials, it’s the culture of our times. It’s indicative of your belief systems, where you are, what you read, dance to, your place in the world. It’s interwoven with stories of making and wearing, it’s a performance of different versions of ‘selves’. 

With digital design, it can be taken even further because we’re not constricted by physical boundaries. With digital fashion, you still maintain that sense of being part of a community. It’s about inviting everyone into the story, the creativity, the experimentation, the performance of fashion.”

How can multidisciplinary designers harness the power of digital expansion while maintaining authenticity in their work?

Leanne Elliott-Young: “There’s this connotation of tech that it, and anything adjacent to it, is necessarily corporate, commercial and lacks a ‘soul’. In reality, digital creation and expanding into creating in the digital realm has the same potential pitfalls as creating in the physical world. Of course, there’s the potential with both types of work to create work that lacks authenticity but, equally, if an artist is making either digital or physical work that has meaning for them, or is simply work that they like, it is authentic. The idea of ‘authenticity’ will mean something different to each artist. The key is to work with whatever medium or software to further your own idea of ‘authenticity’ and to keep making whatever kind of art you want to make."

Considering the current socioeconomic situation, what advice would you give to emerging designers who wish to establish their brands in the metaverse?

 Leanne Elliott-Young: “Experiment and be bold - test out new tech and see what works for you and what your audience responds to. Collaborate with people - build a community: lean into that. Support others and they’ll support you. Engage with your fans and your buyers. The key to success in web3 is working collaboratively. Join our academy and become a part of our platform.”

Can you elaborate on how you see the future of fashion, design, and art in the context of the community and connection-driven metaverse?

Leanne Elliott-Young: “Community is the cornerstone of digital creation in web3. The metaverse nurtures thriving communities that coalesce around shared interests, values, and experiences. These communities actively participate, provide feedback, and even shape the creative process. Designers tap into the collective imagination, shaping their work in direct dialogue with their audience.

As more designers and more consumers enter web3 spaces, the art produced becomes more of an object interwoven with dynamic, interactive narratives. Designers craft immersive experiences that viewers can step into: art, design, fashion evolve into a fusion of creativity and participation. And, hopefully, every individual will find their place within this journey.

Moreover, there’s a more structural, economic aspect to this also. We’re building a creators-first economy – and a community which reflects this prioritization of fair ownership and equity share.”