Fashion's Digital Revolution

With tribulations there comes resolution, and from within you get a revolution. It’s no secret that digital fashion has been blurring the lines between the physical and the digital worlds, but while it holds a promising potential to change society as we know it, the world still needs to open its heart to this new and attractive form of fashion.

Credit: @jamesmackk

When we say it has the power to change society, we’re not saying it lightly!

Fashion has been at the center of socio-cultural change for centuries. During post-war Britain, the Mods and Rockers took the country by storm. They were a generation of two very different subcultures that expressed their ideals through fashion: leather jackets & pin-ups, and bohemian berets & cashmere jumpers, respectively.

A generation that was financially more stable than its predecessors, came to redefine fashion consumerism in a way that had never been seen before. Your outfit was a statement, it was your identity, it represented your ideals.

Flashforward to 2021, that consumerism has done nothing but exponentially grow. What used to be local shops, evolved into multinational brands; social media was born and became the medium to reflect our identities; and the proliferation of fast fashion has made it even easier for people to buy new clothes for their very own #ootd.

But the first two decades of the new millennium haven’t been easy, and concerns towards global warming grow as fast as the consumerism that propels it. As a result, we have a more conscious generation, ready to bring resolution to one of the industries with the highest carbon footprint in the planet.

Digital fashion: clothes that you can wear, but cannot touch. Outfits that reflect your style, but don’t pollute. Forget the fabrics, the synthetics and the chemicals. Say hello to 3D garments and futuristic creative minds.

It’s no surprise that this burgeoning form of fashion, comes from within digital subcultures. Their ideals? A cleaner, fairer and more sustainable approach to fashion, and therefore, consumerism.

The digital garments can be purchased and overlaid on images of customers via fashion retailers such as DRESSX; they can be worn in real time via AR clothing as with Charli Cohen’s and James Mack’s collaboration, available here; and they can even be used as wearables on Decentraland, or as part of luxury fashion styling games, such as DREST.

Credit: DRESSX

Global warming, the cons of fast fashion, and the ongoing world pandemic, have accelerated the way in how we embrace our digital selves. But let’s not think that this is just another trend in fashion. By thinking beyond fabrics and needles, designers have started a revolution that will - as much as subcultures in the past have – inspire the socio-cultural change that will take us closer to a brighter, more sustainable future.

Credit: The Fabricant

If you want to discover more, join us on Instagram for our #FashionFridays, a full day dedicated to digital fashion content, including live streams with designers to start meaningful conversations about the future of fashion.

Article by Edua Sykes

KnownOrigin's Digital Fashion Consultant