South Korea invests in top position in Metaverse

A handful of Asian countries are already establishing themselves as pioneers in the virtual world. There, young, digitally advanced generations are driving new online channels such as live streaming and virtual stores more than in other countries. This is especially true for South Korea. South Korea’s Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology has now announced that it will invest nearly $200 million in creating a complex Metaverse ecosystem. In addition, the Seoul Municipal Government has expressed a desire to build a ‘Metaverse Seoul’ in 2023 to conquer the virtual market.

Fashion occupies a prominent place in this movement alongside other industries, taking center stage in Korean virtual worlds such as Zepeto, which has already partnered with a number of global brands such as Nike and Gucci. It has a monthly active audience of over 300 million people. “I feel like many Metaverse platforms in Korea are offering global services, and fashion in the Metaverse is becoming an important medium for self-expression, especially among the digital-native generations,” said Rosa Park, team director of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) in conversation with FashionUnited.

The state agency was behind the creation of the new Metaverse Fashion Festival (KMFF), which ran from mid-December to late January. Developed jointly with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the KMFF aims to showcase domestic fashion brands in the Metaverse through the digital extension of a traditional showroom atmosphere and offer multi-dimensional content designed to enhance engagement with a global clientele.

“Global fashion brands are making various attempts in the market to collaborate with Metaverse platforms,” says Park. “However, it is not easy for independent fashion labels to develop marketing strategies to use the metaverse for themselves. Therefore, KOCCA decided to launch the project to promote and support Korea’s leading designer brands.”

Yugadang Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA

“The Metaverse Doesn’t End in Virtual Space”

When you enter the KMFF via a special website, you will be asked to choose a character, your desired gender and whether you want the avatar to be black or white. They are then transported to “Fashion City”, one of three themed worlds where they can take a tour leading to the virtual showrooms of 20 participating brands.

In these spaces, each brand’s collections were presented in an immersive environment that reflects their overall brand identity and embodies individual aesthetics in a personal space. While Setsetset’s room was shaped like a hanok, a traditional Korean house, albeit with a bright pink exterior and heart-shaped decorations, Lie opted for a more avant-garde architecture to reflect his values ​​of bold and structured design. Both the exterior and interior were inspired by the brand’s flagship store in hotspot Cheongdam-dong, located in Seoul’s Gangnam district.

In the showrooms, visitors can view information about the brand and the design team, lookbooks and video clips from shows, as well as digital reproductions of garments. For Lie, this included garments shown on the final runway of Paris Fashion Week. Speaking to FashionUnited, Lie Creative Director Chung Chung Lee said of bringing the brand’s identity into the virtual world: “The store demonstrates that the metaverse does not end in virtual space, but continues beyond it in connection with reality can. The reproduction of clothing has the same importance. By connecting real catwalk and virtual space, the garments were designed in such a way that the users can wear outfits with the identity of Lie everywhere.”

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SetSetSet Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA
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Lie Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA

Upon entering the rooms, visitors receive three tickets that they can collect to “purchase” various digital items from each of the brands. The pieces can be selected and worn by their avatar, giving users an incentive to explore each area. Other participating brands were Besfxxk, Bonbom, Ceeann, Seokwoon Yoon, The Studio K, Bemuet(te), Beyond Closet, Ul:kin, Wnderkammer, C-Zanne, Doucan, Dew E Dew E, Kichéleehém Yugadang, Eenk, Greedilous, Open plan and nohant.

Meanwhile, ‘Shopping City’, another area of ​​the festival, was specially designed for retail platforms such as The Hyundai Seoul department store and online marketplace EQL, where users could shop and watch fashion shows in a virtual environment. Alongside this, ‘Enter City’ was all about K-pop, the Korean genre of music that’s growing in popularity around the world. At this virtual location, guests could view a schedule of events, including a fashion show and a performance by K-pop artist Hyolin.

However, the KMFF did not only take place digitally. It included various offline events and pop-ups at stores such as Hyundai Seoul and Hankyu Osaka Department Store, where it held various events throughout the month of January. Thanks to its phygital presence, the festival has been able to connect with people both online and offline, expanding its reach to more brands and new clientele.

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Nohant Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA

This festival differs from other festivals not only in that it focuses on phygital events, but also in that it appeals to both consumers and a B2B audience. Aside from the collections, a big part of the festival consisted of giving a comprehensive overview of the brands, including their history and the teams behind them. While this may not have been entirely intentional, it allowed a wider audience to experience the brand in a unique setting without having to travel across the world. While people were ultimately drawn to the event by a desire to shop for digital clothing and see performances by popular singers, the multi-brand setting also allowed access to a showroom experience and getting to know attendees in new, immersive ways .

Fashion and the Metaverse in South Korea’s future

With strong support from South Korean politics and business, it seems the Metaverse will play an important role in the country’s future. This is also confirmed by the participants from KOCCA and KMFF, for whom the concept fulfills its task by offering brands and people numerous opportunities to get in touch with the fashion industry.

Rosa Park from the organization said of the festival: “[Designer:innen] can convey their brands’ concepts and products by allowing potential customers to experience them as content, rather than through lengthy explanations or advertisements. The virtual showrooms in particular help the audience to understand the concept and ambiance of each brand as they embody the ideas of the designers, which is difficult to do offline. Such an experience is likely to result in consumers buying products, becoming fans of the brand, and better understanding the brand’s values. So one of the advantages of such events is that they retain loyal customers.”

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Ceeann Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA
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Dew E Dew E Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA

Park also explained KOCCA’s decision to work primarily with independent fashion labels, which she believes play a role in adding value to the fashion industry. She added: “One of the great strengths of an independent fashion label is that it can build a unique identity and create differentiated products based on the creativity of its design. KOCCA supports and promotes independent fashion labels as part of the cultural content industry as they create products based on their creativity.”

As for participating brands, the efforts of KMFF and KOCCA have been well received, they told the event. Jinyoung Kim of women’s brand Dew E Dew E said she was struggling to raise funds to set up a Metaverse showroom on her own and was grateful for the supporting project. She added, “The world of the metaverse is infinite. And it’s just the beginning and end of the journey that we all don’t know. Just as we couldn’t have imagined the popularity of K-pop today ten years ago, the future of Korean fashion in the Metaverse can have a lot of impact. What is clear, however, is that in an era where content matters, the fashion world finds infinite possibilities in the Metaverse.”

Besfxxk’s Jae Hyuk Lim is also positive about the metaverse and believes it will see strong demand in the market in the near future. The brand recognized the opportunities presented to it. Her presentation approach during the event demonstrated this, with her showroom defying real-world possibilities with an underwater theme.

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Besfxxk Showroom KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA

Commenting on the future of this platform, Lim said, “Metaverse fashion is seen as a game-changing system that can create new ways of buying and delivering fashion content. It doesn’t seem overrated or overdone, but was already quite tangible and active. We wanted to be part of a promising project. There will be strong market demand for the Metaverse in the near future. South Korea is known for its rapid growth in digitization, and most people are familiar with digital society and fashion.”

Meanwhile, other brands, like Wunderkammer, are planning to integrate the Metaverse into their own businesses. HyeYoung Shin said that while no official plans have been finalized yet, the presentation of the brand’s future collection will likely take place both offline and in the Metaverse. About the concept as a whole, Shin said, “[Das Metaversum] is not the future, it is the present. When you transcend time and space and move freely between reality and virtuality, you can experience a label’s products in many different ways. I think this is the present and future of not only Korea but all creative people around the world.”

With such a positive outlook for labels, the metaverse really seems to have a place in South Korea, both now and in the future. For Korea creative content agency KOCCA, this means that it must continue to support local designers who want to enter the digital realm and bring the concept closer to them and the rest of the world. Although the timeline for this venture is yet to be determined, Park said she expects to implement potential proposals towards the end of 2023.

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Wunderkammer Showroom at KMFF ’22. Image: KOCCA

This article was similarly published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ.

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