Institute of Digital Fashion Is Bringing the Metaverse to LFW
Co-founders Leanne Elliott Young and Cattytay are using the upcoming fashion week to launch their manifesto while blurring the lines between physical and digital.
Co-founders Leanne Elliott Young and Cattytay are using the upcoming fashion week to launch their manifesto while blurring the lines between physical and digital.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you should be well aware that the two hot-button issues surrounding the fashion industry are sustainability and its digital future. Well, the Institute of Digital Fashion has been tackling both topics since it was founded by Leanne Elliot Young and Cattytay in 2020. In the last couple of years, the duo have created a platform championing digital initiatives to counteract the industry’s shameful sustainability issues. Having worked with brands such as Richard Quinn and Machine-A, the platform has utilised virtual spaces and augmented reality to showcase how the industry can change for the better. All their efforts will culminate with the 001 IoDF launch taking place at the upcoming London Fashion Week.
To rally the industry into exploring fashion’s digital future, IoDF's upcoming IRL x URL launch will blur the lines between physical and digital spaces with inventive and engaging activities throughout the five-day event. This includes sharing their message through the use of holograms and avatars unlocked to all subscribed to the ‘IoDF Allowlist’ (which you can sign up for now on their website). Come Friday 16 September, subscribers will join the IRL x URL metaverse and unlock exclusive access to the IoDF’s planned activities including access to collectable tokens (made from recycled metal, of course) embossed with QR codes. There will also be billboards and fly posters around the city with QR codes to be activated via your phone which will link you directly to the subscriber option for IoDF’s first product launch.
It’ll be up to individuals to join IoDF’s metaverse community and engage with the various interactive events. 'Let’s sell creativity, not more clothes. This activation is an invitation to the future of fashion. We want to re-write the structures and consider the planet, culture and community over commerce and capitalism’ explains founders Leanne Elliot Young and Cattytay.
With more details to follow as fashion week goes on, we should expect no shortage of digital fashion utilising AR, VR, and digital-try-ons in line with the IoDF’s past collaborations.
To get access to all the 001 IoDF launch join the Allowlist now.