How Dundas Had Stylist George Cortina Curate Its Metaverse Fashion Week Experience, Is Partnering With Digital Clothing Outfit DressX At The Grammys And Drew Inspiration From That Famous Digital Closet In Classic ’90s Movie Clueless.

“We’ve just had a baby,” told Dundas director of photography Evangelo Bousis via a Zoom phone call in the hospital on the morning of the company’s Metaverse Fashion Week debut.

The brand’s co-founders, Peter Dundas and Evangelo Bousis are married and business partners. They are just a few days into becoming parents.

In this backdrop of reality, they began work to create the Metaverse Fashion Week fashion show and virtual boutique within Decentraland’s web 3.0 universe.

The goal was to make the physical and digital worlds as close as is possible, from visual merchandising through execution at the airport. “We wanted to see how we can combine the digital world and the physical how we make the two mesh together,” the designer explained.

The store, launched just a few days before the event, showcased a sneak peek of its 12 styles, with 11 featuring hyperlinks to the Dundas online store where physical models were already available.

Dundas World store interior at Metaverse Fashion Week in Decentraland. DUNDAS WORLD

For the look 12, it was a much more epic affair. “I told Peter, ‘this is your chance, no budgets, so just go for it and do something Beyonce would have worn,'” he laughed. In celebration of the brand’s debut in 2017, Dundas designed a unique style that Beyonce wore to Beyonce’s Grammy Awards performance.

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The fashions were showcased ‘in-store on avatars surrounded by two of the brand’s iconic panthers, complete with diamond-encrusted collars. The designer explained that they had curated the pop-up in the same way as the physical stores, which was the same for the online fashion show.

In both instances, the two cases, he explained, it was about the exchange of information from the physical realm into the Metaverse. “The vision must be strong to ensure that all components work together. In the production, we used the same composer to compose the music we use in our live shows. Peter collaborated with his stylist in real life George Cortina on curating the look.”

The next step is digital wearables created using online clothing retailer DressX. Dundas worked on its first venture into the Metaverse with NFT Wearables from the Super Bowl outfits it made for the artist Mary J.Blige.

The two are eager to keep their relationship with Decentraland, and DressX will develop outfits for avatars in DCL and additional filter variations to share through social platforms.

But, before that comes the Grammys. “We have a big moment at the Grammys,” Bousis said, “we’re doing a (digital) wearable with DressX.” He did not divulge any other information; however, H.E.R., Olivia Rodrigo, and Billie-Eilish all have slots for performances.

As with all fashion designers, MVFW was an experiment. “We’re a small brand, so we thought ‘let’s learn about the behaviors and expectations of the consumer in the digital world,'” said the designer. “For us, it’s an experiment and how we can relate it to our business.”

One strategy for the future is to offer physical clothing that includes digital wearables in the normal.

The idea came from discussions in Covid-19 about Zoom calls and was influenced by the iconic ’90s film, Clueless. “It is one of those films we knew as children, and we thought on the digital closet. They were years ahead of us.”

The Dundas virtual store at Metaverse Fashion Week in Decentraland. DUNDAS

Instead of wishing for the best with a dress for your waist, pick one from your online closet.

Other applications of Web 3.0 technology might revolve around avoiding supply chain issues that developed as a result of the Pandemic.

“From the moment we launched our company, we’ve always wondered how we could disrupt existing systems and we believe that the Metaverse is going to alter the fashion industry. There are endless possibilities and we’re looking to discover the possibilities,” he concluded.

“It’s all about taking risks so you have to either jump into it or hold back and we’re the kind of people that jump in.”

An avatar model on the Dundas runway at Metaverse Fashion Week in Decentraland. DUNDAS