Loewe's metaverse fashion comes to reality at Paris Fashion Week

Think you're seeing a clip straight out of Minecraft? Well, nope, this is reality.

At the Loewe fashion show at Paris Fashion Week last weekend, the audience had a hard time processing what they were seeing when two models walked onto the runway wearing pixelated-style clothes—ranging from T-shirts and hoodies to pants—with uneven edges and sludgy shadows, like the outfits you'd see in the popular video game Minecraft.  

Loewe's new digital street-style clothing is real pieces from its Spring 2023 collection. And if you're a fashion fanatic, you'd know that this style, also known as "trompe l'oeil" or "trick of the eye effect," is not new. Designers have been working with optical illusions on robes for a long time. However, Loewe's new pieces are opening a door of opportunity for more metaverse and real-life crossovers.  

Famous luxury brands like Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga, and many more have partnered with mobile game producers for these meta-slash-real-life collaborations. According to a report by Gizmodo, Balenciaga has collaborated with Fortnite on limited edition in-game skins as well as physical Fortnite baseball caps. Meanwhile, Roblox players are allowed to allowed to visit a virtual platform called Gucci Town and buy Gucci clothing for their avatars.

With the growing interest of brands in the metaverse and digital fashion, Loewe's unique collection falls in the middle of virtual and physical expressions.   

Loewe is one of the world's major luxury houses founded in Spain in 1846. It is under the creative direction of Jonathan Anderson. Originally, the brand is specializing in leather purses and bags. Today, it is innovating new ways to maintain its prominence in the high fashion industry by bringing digital apparel to life.