Metropolis World is leading the way in revolutionizing fashion and creative expression in the 21st century with its “phygital” platform that blends digital and fashion experiences. The platform’s unique approach to digital fashion goes beyond personal style, offering educational opportunities special rewards, and physical experiences that reflect deeper passions and beliefs. With a diverse lineup of partners, Metropolis World is striving to establish itself as a center for culture and business in the metaverse community.
Metropolis World: Where Fashion Flourishes
Metropolis World explores the practical applications of digital fashion and its potential to transform people’s relationships with fashion and style. Through the use of digital clothing items, users can unlock a range of educational opportunities, special rewards, and physical experiences. In this way, digital fashion goes beyond being a mere expression of personal style and becomes a reflection of one’s deeper passions and beliefs.
Metropolis World is eagerly anticipating the realization of this vision and the potential it holds for reshaping our understanding of fashion and identity in the digital age. According to Rania Ajami, the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Metropolis World, brands and individuals in the early stages of exploring digital fashion will likely attempt to recreate their established visual identity in the virtual world. However, she also anticipates that the adoption of utility will have a significant impact on the future visual aesthetic of digital fashion.
“It is easy for brands just to use a logo on digital t-shirts so that they can recreate that graphic tee in the physical world easily enough,” Ajami explains. “However, once people start connecting to their audiences through the utility their items offer instead of their logos, the need for a direct 1-to-1 physical replication starts falling away and more imaginative options begin to surface as people embrace the boundless possibilities that digital art offers. We are already seeing creators embrace things like unicorns, cake splatters, and Morse code masks to represent things like new music, digital parties, and art installations, and I can’t wait to see what more people are going to make.”
Metropolis World aims to offer a range of unique fashion designs and accessories that bridge the gap between the real and digital worlds. Our physical and digital lives will be smoothly linked in the future, with each field enhancing the other rather than replacing it, according to Rania. By embracing this concept of “phygitality”, Metropolis World is at the forefront of revolutionizing the way we approach fashion and creative expression in the 21st century.
“Our goal is to enhance the way we experience both in tandem,” she says. “As such, much of the utility we offer with our fashion accessories involve experiences that directly affect people’s physical lives such as physical products, events, and rewards for things we use all the time.”
Metropolis World has curated an impressive lineup of fashion partners and among them is the renowned designer, Christian Cowan. The platform values established brands and designers like Christian to expand their offerings and help shape the vision of Persona Parlor. However, to create a diverse and dynamic ecosystem, Metropolis World also encourages up-and-coming designers like Lucy Tammam and Anciela, along with artists and musicians who wish to express themselves through digital fashion. With the aim to become a hub for culture and commerce, the platform seeks to cater to everyone interested in exploring this space.
“I love how dramatic Christian’s style is!” Rania says. “It brings a story and voice to fashion reminiscent of old Hollywood which enlivens the pieces in a way we strive for in all our art at Metropolis World. Moreover, this lively style brings high fashion to the digital space in a whole new way. I find it important to establish early on that digital fashion is about more than just streetwear, it’s about redefining the future of fashion, and I feel Christian embodies that in all of his designs.”
Phygitallity Meets The Metaverse Community
Metropolis World has been dubbed a “phygital” platform for its unique approach to blending digital and physical experiences. The ability to print apparel items that are an exact reproduction of their digital counterparts is an appealing feature, however, there are many more opportunities that go far beyond that. The platform aims to revolutionize the fashion industry with new digital and physical experiences that push the boundaries of what is possible.
“We are looking at creating physical and immersive exhibits with the Persona Parlor: physical fashion shows which showcase digital designs, physical booths where people can build their avatars, physical events that people can attend and receive digital items, and so much more,” Arami says. “However, events are just one example, but the opportunities for brands all over the world to build engaging interactions with their utility are only limited by their imagination to merge these worlds.”
Metropolis World has received valuable advice from designers regarding the creation of a sustainable future for digital fashion. In order to achieve sustainability, different geographic regions must be taken into consideration due to resource availability, product use, and production requirements varying from one country to the next.
“While we are still in the early stages of developing long-term sustainability for this new industry, I find it incredibly helpful to speak to diverse experts in these fields to cover our blind spots in this way,” Ajami says. “People with experience creating not only in different industries but in different countries as well are already helping us understand the needs of everyone around the world with a desire to connect online.”
Metropolis World has been steadily growing its metaverse community through its unique platform. According to Rania, the majority of users drawn to the platform are creative individuals such as artists and designers, who are eager to participate in the development of new industries instead of simply inhabiting worlds created by others.
“Artists in particular often tell us they are excited about the prospect of creating in an environment where there aren’t any established industry standards they are forced to create within,” she explains. “In this new digital era, people of all backgrounds are feeling empowered by their ability to create opportunities and stretch their imaginations in ways that are restricted in other arts and entertainment industries. For example, we recently held a customization competition for the Persona Parlor where we invited our community to submit their own fashion designs. We had everyone from students to professional artists submit sketches and designs inspired by their favorite Metropolis World properties, movies, games, AI, and more which our artists translated into our unique style. All of those designs are going to be available in the Persona Parlor, and these creators receive an equal share of the sale of these items. This has drawn even more people to the MW community who are interested in the prospect of developing their own art, digital brand, and connection with others through our unique creator economy being built.”
Since its launch, the Metropolis World community has taken a proactive approach to contributing to the platform. According to Rania, the community has exceeded her expectations by creating art, music, stories, and social media profiles that have brought the world to life in new and innovative ways. She believes that the feedback from the community led to the creation of the hyper-customization feature of the Persona Parlor, which allows for more control over avatar creation and encourages contributions from users. She is also excited to continue this collaborative process with the community as Metropolis World builds its ecosystem even further.
Virtual Fashion’s Potential
In the digital age, our relationship to our identity in the digital space is incredibly important. It has forced us to reconsider how we express ourselves beyond the constraints of our physical bodies and the labels society assigns us.
“The clothes we wear, the gender we identify with, and things like tattoos and hair stylings; the digital space allows us to explore facets of our identity that might be uncomfortable, or in some cases, unsafe to explore in the physical world,” Ajami explains. “Fashion is the first step towards that exploration of truth. Oftentimes, the freedom of expression people find in the digital space can feel more authentic to who they are than their physical identity because of this freedom of expression.”
Metropolis World is eager to explore the intriguing intersection of fashion and utility, as they believe this can offer exciting possibilities. By moving beyond the traditional role of digital fashion as a visual expression, the platform is exploring how digital items can be used to create a new relationship between users and their clothing. For example, imagine a world where certain t-shirts grant access to a VIP space, a digital book provides access to a college-level course, or even purchasing a piece of high fashion includes step-by-step instructions on how to physically construct that item. In this scenario, ownership takes on a new level of pride and meaning beyond just a visual expression. As the platform is among the trailblazers pushing the limits of what is possible, what sets it apart is the thrilling opportunity it provides to showcase fashion that defies the laws of physics.
“One designer we’ve recently been working with expressed her desire to see some of these digital items translated into the physical world using augmented reality,” Ajami says. “In this way, it would allow her to explore the fashion from a purely expressionist perspective instead of a utilitarian one on a real body while also working sustainably to create a fashion piece for a particular shoot that doesn’t waste fabric. The possibility of integrating virtual fashion into physical spaces is fascinating, and we can’t wait to see how people are going to use it!”
With the increasing rate of the digital world in our daily lives, the use of virtual fashion and identity is also gaining importance. However, there is a risk of becoming overly reliant on the digital world. Spending too much time in the digital realm can be overwhelming, leading to a sense of disconnection. To combat this, Metropolis World highlights the significance of both the digital and physical aspects of the developing space, emphasizing the need for balance between the two.
“We have reached a point where the digital world isn’t going away,” Ajami says. “There are tools in this space we use to function and connect in the everyday lives that we’ve grown accustomed to and for good reason. There is so much promise and potential for the digital world to do good, but only if it develops alongside our physical reality. Once we start valuing one over the other, we lose potential in one or both worlds. As I see it, the goal is not to replace our current lives with brand-new shiny digital ones. It’s to use the tools available to us to enhance the quality of life we currently have and build a sustainable future for the world we are living in.”
It is clear that Metropolis World knows its way around the metaverse. The exploration of digital fashion’s practical applications and its potential to revolutionize people’s connections with fashion and style is underway. As it aims to continue to serve as a hub for culture and commerce, the platform is set to reshape our understanding of fashion and identity in the digital age, and its potential for growth is limitless.
