Fast fashion has made us addicted to fashion on a mass scale. Now in the digital age, this 2 trillion-dollar industry is going to be unleashed from its physical chains – here is why:

⏰ More time spent online

In 2020, adults in the USA spent an estimated average of 7 hours and 50 minutes with digital media each day; out of which 2 hours and 25 minutes were spent on social media.

Spending more time online directly corresponds to expressing more online. This trend can be seen in the rise of purchases of in-game skins, NFTs and other digital goods.

♻️ Sustainable

Digital fashion address the same expressive wants without killing the planet.

A digital fashion item has a 97% lower carbon footprint than the physical equivalent. This expands the market to include environmentally conscious individuals who want to express themselves.

Sustainability makes sure we can indulge in guilt-free fashion.

🎨 Artistic freedom

Lower barrier to entry and not bound to physical laws.

You don't need to be a fashion designer or need capital to produce physical collections. Cost to produce a 3D asset is much lower and gives rise to creative freedom unseen in the physical domain.

✨ Expressive freedom

Not bound to the physical limits of your body.

Want to experience dressing up differently than your identity, gender or even species? Go ahead, you can be anyone or anything.

😎 Not just Virtual Reality

Digital fashion will also augment reality.

Augmented Reality filters are already deployed on social media. Apple is supposed to release AR glasses in a couple of years, further expanding this area. Imagine walking around and seeing folks in their digitally chosen clothing.

💼 Unique Business Models

Blockchain is giving rise to new ways to make money.

Being digital native digital clothes are already being sold as NFTs which gives rise to business models such as artists getting paid upon when the item is resold or is paid per view in the Metaverse.

🧱 Dematerialization

No physical material means zero marginal cost, zero return cost (currently topmost problem for retailers), no size problems, takes no physical closet space. No logistic or shipping delay means it acts like any other digital media and can reach consumers instantly giving rise to viral tendencies.

Fashion has been entangled with clothing since time immemorial. But it need not be, as fashion is a form of human expression while clothing is a human need. Fashion uses clothing to express in the material age but not in the digital age.