FULL-TIME FASHION WEEK: Now that New York, London, Milan, Paris and Tokyo fashion weeks have ended, are you ready for World Fashion Week?
It’s the latest brainchild of Finnish tech entrepreneur and sustainability guru Evelyn Mora, who is billing World Fashion Week (WFW) as the “ultimate digital-first commerce and experience platform” that’s immersive, gamified and “always on.”
As chief executive officer of Vlge Inc., which markets a virtual-world creation tool already used by the likes of Parsons, L’Oréal, Charlotte Tilbury, Diesel, the Louvre and Ukraine Fashion Week, Mora sees WFW as a better way for fashion brands to engage digital-native consumers, and monetize their designs.
“This is not about NFTs and metaverse and blockchains: This is about gaming and immersive commerce,” she said in an interview. “It’s about retail. It’s about helping the physical fashion industry to restructure its schedule and tackle challenges around sustainability.”
According to her research, traditional fashion weeks lead to overproduction, and the time lag between the reveal of designs during traditional fashion weeks and availability leads to a disconnect that alienates young generations.
A pioneer in digital fashion weeks in Helsinki during the pandemic, Mora argues that WFW would democratize access to high-fashion experiences, and increase engagement with consumers via gamification, personalization and immersive experiences — all the while reducing the waste of IRL fashion weeks and consuming less water and electricity.
“We’re stepping into a future where fashion is no longer bound by seasonality, geography or gatekeepers,” she said, revealing the project exclusively to WWD.
While still in development, she envisions an online ecosystem spanning virtual flagships, real-time commerce, AI-powered personalization — and interoperability with platforms like Roblox and Unreal Engine.
Given the surging popularity of online gaming, and Vlge’s interoperability technology, the potential audience size numbers are in the hundreds of millions. Mora envisions a year-long calendar of activations, game launches, product drops, and digital and physical events.
She is in the throes of signing on large brands, independent designers and academic institutions, with plans to launch the first full edition of WFW in 2026.
In her view, WFW will give a leg up to emerging and small brands who struggle to reach consumers as the wholesale channel withers.
“The primary product sold will be physical, but it will be sold in the immersive games experiences across different platforms,” she said.
A screen grab of Vlge this week featuring a Gucci shoulder bag.
Courtesy of Vlge
