Auroboros to Debut First Ready-to-wear Collection at London Fashion Week
LONDON — Ahead of London Fashion Week’s June edition, fashion label Auroboros on Monday revealed it will show its first digital ready-to-wear collection on June 12 as part of the DiscoveryLab program in partnership with the Institute of Digital Fashion.
Inspired by combining nature with technology, the purely digital collection will be showcased in a film, worn by a physical model, and styled by Auroboros’ first digital stylist, Sita Abellan.
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A piece from the 14-look collection, the “VenusTrap” dress, will be available for consumers to try on via Snapchat after the show by scanning QR codes on Auroboros billboards and posters throughout London. The full collection is available to purchase on DressX.com and Auroboros’ website.
Having made a name for itself with the real-time growing couture piece, which blossomed over a period of six to 12 hours, the label — which was founded by Paula Sello and Alissa Aulbekova, who are currently designers in residence at Sarabande, the charitable trust established by the late Lee Alexander McQueen — aims to showcase with its ready-to-wear collection that “digital fashion is here to stay.”
“Digital fashion has existed for several decades now, from CGI costumes in Hollywood films to the clothing worn by game characters ‘skins,’ which gamers can purchase to customize their avatar and then replicate in real life with ‘cosplay.’ People are rapidly becoming accustomed to virtual clothing, which we have seen with the attention on Auroboros throughout lockdown, leading us into our revolutionary showcasing at fashion week. The perception has begun to change, especially with the cultural boom of cryptocurrency and digital art, alongside the NFT world,” the duo told WWD.
The designers believe that digital fashion has altered — and will continue — to the way clothing designers and retailers create for the fashion landscape.
“Auroboros digital-only ready-to-wear enables limitless freedom and accessibility in terms of gender, body and size. With zero material cost also, the carbon footprint for producing one digital item is, on average, 97 percent less than it is for a physical garment. In some cases, virtual clothing can entirely replace fast fashion purchases, as according to market data, one in 10 shoppers in the U.S. buy solely for social media,” they said.
“Digital fashion allows you to express your identity and individuality in a more visually exciting and innovative way without the material restraints of physical. The ecological and inclusive advantages of digital garments have significant implications for how the industry will approach clothing design and production moving forward. Digital fashion already has made dramatic implications on the fashion industry, as brands are starting to try and incorporate digitalization within their strategy,” the duo added.
That said, Sello and Aulbekova also think that the digital and physical realms go hand in hand. They produced this virtual rtw collection because they are “inspired by and in awe of the beauty of the natural world and wanted to use technology as a tool to reconnect.”
“Earlier in the year, we launched an Auroboros challenge to take a video wearing our Metamorph Headpiece social media filter whilst in natural surroundings. People were actively seeking out beautiful backdrops of forests, plants and lakes, and finding enjoyment in nature, which was our intention with the challenge.”
The duo is not worried that digital clothing will fade away in the post-COVID-19 world, where more people will crave real-life experiences. They believe people will actually have a stronger inclination to want to protect the planet, and with the increase in popularity of AR technology, the next stage of the digital fashion industry, which is to move beyond the phone screen and into physical surroundings, is closer than one would think.
For next season, Auroboros plans to open a new NFT model alongside producing special commissions.
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