Masters of the metaverse

The arena of the metaverse speaks a lot of Italian, at least in the fashion world, where big names such as Prada, Gucci and Diesel have already landed, while other giants are about to take the field whilst a race to the digital real estate is unleashed, so much so that Bernard Arnault fears a speculative bubble. As emerges from this inquiry by MFF, the metaverse also enters the Made-in-Italy supply chain and the very way of designing collections.

«Ours was the first fashion show in the metaverse. We do not say this, but high-tech giants such as Emblematic group (a leading company in the Silicon Valley, ed.) do». It takes a bit of insistence before Giuliano Calza, founder and creative director of Gcds, lets this Italian record slip away, overcoming his usual understatement. «Balenciaga came in a little later and with more of a video game identity, similar to Grand theft auto». That virtual show dates back to fall 2020 (see MFF of September 23, 2020) and guests included avatars of Chiara Ferragni, Dua Lipa, Fedez and Hello Kitty.

The show could also be followed through a 360-degree-view thanks to an oculus. «That was a metaverse experience: allowing you to live like you were front row and act like you were in a video game. You could even go backstage and touch some of the items». Instead, the fashion show scheduled for February 24 will be all physical: the first comeback in presence for the label, now controlled by Quadrivio group which, together with the founders, is working on a sustained growth business plan involving major openings in Asia (see MFF of February 3, 2022). «The fashion show at the Rotonda della Besana will be inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, reinterpreted for cinema by Francis Ford Coppola, and Jennifer Lopez in the movie The Cell», he anticipated to MFF. But Gcds’ plans for the metaverse do not stop here and range from the launch of Nfts to new forays into video games. «In these two years we have learned about a type of 3D design that has transformed the way we design and create collections and work with the supply chain». In short, it is a global metaverse revolution that (also) has an Italian heart.

You were a pioneer. Do you see an Italian way to the metaverse?
By its definition, it is a smart phenomenon and not a geographical one. Today, the same programs that are used to make clothing skins or avatars for virtual reality are becoming increasingly common in everyday life, as demonstrated by the fact that we ourselves use 3D technology to see the positioning of fabrics and prints on finished garments.

So the metaverse is also entering fashion in the supply chain and the designing of collections?
I believe that these types of programs will form the basis of a new way of designing. After the era of digital fashion designers like us, there will be personalities who will work directly in the metaverse, in 3D. It already happens with us. Just as twenty years ago the Internet seemed like something totally new and not usable, and today it is one of the main interfaces with the world, in the same way I believe the metaverse will also be used in work.

From gaming to NFTs, what should we expect in the future of GCDS?
In the future of Gcds there will be certainly NFTs and other video games (after the one of Animal Crossing, launched in 2020). I think we need to talk about these realities in correlation to each other. There is a timeline: some NFTs will be launched already this year and we are working on the big release of a video game. Whoever chooses these platforms to play will also use them as possible inhabitants of the metaverse.

In short, is having a video game useful to socialize with the costumer's avatar who can buy fashion products?
It will be a reward identity. I mean, the same person will have an avatar travelling in virtual places and by attending the event of a brand it will receive discounts from that brand. Real life will become increasingly immersed in the metaverse with the appearance, at first, of a video game. My generation grew up with The Sims. It was an exercise for the metaverse because you had to build a house, places and so on. I created my virtual fashion show with the same dynamic.

Over twenty years ago Murdoch launched Second Life, a virtual world that did not have success. What has changed today?
In my opinion, metaverse platforms have a kind of cyclicity. I think, after the pandemic, people have shown interest in real, public spaces and I think that is the cyclical nature of the metaverse. Today, for the hard core of this world, such as the Asian countries, the metaverse will continue forever. But for the rest of us it will have its phases, it will also be an interest with its own periodicity.

Today, one difference in virtual life is related to cryptocurrencies. What role do they play?
We have to separate the nature of things. It is not the artwork that is valuable, but the nature of the Nfts, non-fungible-tokens. These can be used as gold tokens that will close the circles we have opened, in the future, as in any market. We will be able to use them to buy, or trade, or use these currencies no longer materially, but digitally.

Since you have been working in fashion, you have always drawn using graphic design programs. Have you ever drawn with a pencil?
It depends, the best ideas always come from a paper sketch, especially when it concerns accessories. But when I have to think about graphics and positioning, I have never used a pencil.

Do you collect NFTs?
Unlike my brother, for whom this world has no secrets, I only bought two Nfts from a friend of mine, Giampiero D'Alessandro, who launched a collection with Justin Bieber called Inbetweeners. I really enjoyed it, especially the thought of having authentic currency. I do not know if I will sell them or trade them, meanwhile they are just there, floating in the metaverse.

Do you show these unique virtual objects on social media? In today’s jargon it would be called «flexing»...
I only posted once, just to congratulate my friend and I received positive feedback on social media. What interested me was to communicate the fact that, in my opinion, we have already entered another phase of the world.

As a digital native designer, do you think we have entered the decade of metaverse?
I have always been interested in digital. Long before the metaverse, if I think back to Gcds' Instagram there have always been 3D videos, 3D product showcases, collaborations with 3D artists, and that was to create not only a line of communication but also of products. I feel like a digital native, feeling very comfortable in this world, and I think we should all be a little more open to this universe, because I think it is going to be increasingly dominant. I am just exercising to get ready for that moment. (All rights reserved)