To promote American fashion internationally, Eleanor Lambert established The Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1962. The goal of promoting American-based designers has not changed 60 years later.The map is what is unique: The CFDA exclusively revealed to WWD that the organisation is working on its very first excursion into the virtual world.
The association will stage its first metaverse fashion display in The Sandbox and auction off its first collection of NFTs to commemorate its milestone anniversary.
Darnell Lisby of the Cleveland Museum of Art was the curator of the online exhibition, which was named “Fashioning the Shades of American Design.”As the museum’s assistant fashion curator, Lisby used his discerning eye to select 60 pieces that perfectly capture the spirit of American fashion from all six decades of the CFDA.That was no easy task, according to Lisby. “As a fashion curator, it’s very difficult when you sometimes have certain parameters, but you’re trying to fit so much in such a very tight space,” he explained to WWD. “At the same time, you’re trying to get as many voices [in, or] as much of a voice to as many as you can.
“I think the one thing that all of us — everyone at the CFDA, as well as our digital partners and myself — we all agreed that diversity should ring true throughout the exhibition and this metaverse experience,” he added. “I wanted to figure out how I can group different designers in ways that complement one another, but at the same time, create a succinct story.”
According to Lisby, diversity crosses racial and artistic barriers and contributes a variety of styles and perspectives to the retrospective.The lineup includes “a few of the greatest hits” in fashion as well as less well-known outfits. All of them are drawn from the CFDA’s membership pool, which currently includes more than 450 designers.Names like Ralph Lauren, Patrick Kelly, Donna Karan, Naeem Khan, Tracy Reese, Oscar de la Renta, Anna Sui, Stephen Burrows, Thom Browne, and The Row are among the final pick.
To tie all of it together with a cohesive narrative, he chose the concept of “illumination” and interpreted it across five themes: “Illuminating a Fantasy,” “Illuminating Romance,” “Illuminating the Avant-Garde,” “Illuminating Understanding” and “Illuminating the Soul.”Consider it a chance to tell the tale of American fashion from a variety of perspectives. In order to highlight even more talent, CFDA will also feature additional looks that meet these themes on its social media channels.
Although a lot relies on whether a particular visitor can enjoy “voxelated,” or visually blocky, places like The Sandbox, the immersiveness of the metaverse may make that storytelling connect even more.While those looking for photorealism will be let down, others may not mind and perhaps find it appealing, as evidenced by the success of games like Roblox and Minecraft.Artists in The Sandbox have even produced some great works of art and sold them as NFTs using tools like VoxEdit.
Visitors will be able to judge for themselves how effectively the CFDA’s show translates when the virtual exhibition debuts in December. In any case, they will see these vintage looks up close and in 3D, giving them a fresh perspective.
For Sebastien Borget, The Sandbox’s chief operating officer and cofounder, the metaverse is a “new frontier of expression, where avatars will be an extension of our digital identity.” For him, the CFDA project is “an unprecedented metaverse exhibition in The Sandbox,”It turns out that his platform’s fashion partner and its mission to promote and elevate creativity are identical. Borget mentioned no-cod tools that people employ for self-expression.
“We truly hope to inspire the next generation of fashion designers to imagine, design and bring to life NFT collections that combine expression and utility and will be playable in the metaverse,” he said.
At least someday, CFDA is interested in making things more like games.
But while it’s still learning, it doesn’t have to figure things out on its own.
This fashion show is a continuation of its partnership with creative consultancy 5Crypto, blockchain app developer and NFT platform Polygon Studios, and The Sandbox, which was announced earlier this year.In April, it said that the goal was to create “a Web 3.0 blueprint for American fashion in the metaverse,” and that efforts were focused on education and professional development to prepare members for these virtual and blockchain environments
“For 60 years, we’ve always been on the cusp of industry trends, business trends, societal needs, designers’ needs,” noted Steven Kolb, chief executive officer of the CFDA. “This felt like a good milestone or benchmark moment, as we were kind of reflecting, to also project forward.”
The show is only half of the story. On its upcoming NFT collection, the CFDA is also working with Polygon and two other innovation partners.The collectibles are being made by Brand New Vision, a company that makes 3D digital products and tokens. The NFT platform Arianee, based in Paris, is focusing on the interface and user experience, including perks that give exclusive access to some kind of experiences.They will be part of the NFTs, which come out in the third week of November, but teasers could come as early as the CFDA Awards on Nov. 7.
“It’s inspiring to see a global industry titan like the CFDA embracing digitization and Web 3.0 technology to drive the fashion industry forward,” said Brian Trunzo, metaverse lead at Polygon Studios, in an exclusive statement. “Polygon is delighted to provide the infrastructure to make the CFDA’s foray into Web3 as seamless, cost-effective and sustainable as possible.”
The CFDA is doing what it does best: inspiring and guiding the fashion that is at the center of it all, while the partners manage the technical parts.To produce the outfits that will make up the NFT collection, dubbed “Lighting the Path of American Fashion,” it has sought the help of eight of its member designers.Their intention was to reflect their brand’s journey, notably at the confluence or even collision of art, culture, and design, in an exclusive 60th anniversary design.
Elaborated Kolb, ”We gave no parameters to the designers participating, so you’ll see different executions from each of our partners.” Others may offer a wearable for avatars or something else, while some may take the shape of artwork to be displayed on a virtual wall.
Given that Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Willy Chavarria, Aurora James, and Vivienne Tam are all taking part, this freedom to be creative should lead to some impressive results. Like the exhibition, this list was put together with a mix of styles, points of view, and even career stages in mind. The one thing that all of their work has in common is that it will be very rare. Each designer is making one look for a single minting.
The auction will be held directly on CFDA’s website, and buyers can use a standard credit card or other fiat payment method, for a fee, thanks to a partnership with Moonpay, a platform that aims to make crypto transactions easier.
With a high level of rarity and an easier way to buy, the auction seems likely to bring in a high price. That would be great for the CFDA Foundation Inc., since the money from sales goes to this charity.
But no matter what happens in November and December, Kolb seems creatively happy. Even though the real world was busy with New York Fashion Week and the CFDA Awards, the association was able to finish up its anniversary exhibition in the metaverse and its NFT collection.He sees the first one as a way to honor the CFDA’s past “through the lens of talent,” and the second one as a way for the participating brands to show what they stand for “through the lens of the talent.”
“I like the yin and yang of that,” he said, “and I think when we when we go live, people will really have a special experience.”
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