London Fashion Week 2021: World’s First Fully Digital Fashion Brand Launches New Collection

The collection showcases designs made from exotic animal fur and single-use plastic, and as the designs only exist in the meta form, there is little damage done to the planet

Aimed at Gen Z, the more eco-conscious consumer, republiqe marries sustainability, technology and creativity to showcase the future of fashion

VIDEO LINK – https://vimeo.com/612480781

The World’s first fully digital, virtual fashion house republiqe has launched their latest collection in line with London Fashion Week 2021.

The new collection harks back to the early 2000s with four different styles being revived; Bubblz, Furr, Rippd and Teez. From a trends perspective, the creative team at republiqe have identified the millenium revival as the next big thing in fashion for Gen Z, who the brand is aimed at. There are also many parallels being drawn between the very early adoption stage where digital fashion is today and the emergence of technology and social media in the early 00’s.

The brand defines two distinct requirements when it comes to fashion; a physical need to wear clothing for warmth and comfort and an emotional need to look good and feel good. As republiqe does not have any physical attire, their offering caters to the latter, allowing their customers to indulge in extravagant, fast fashion apparel where it matters most online, without harming the planet.

For a while now, brands have been taking note and standing up to climate change, searching for viable alternatives to polyesters and resource-draining materials and utilising technology to create better processes. When it comes to digital fashion, Republiqe is not the first brand to invest in this, with fashion houses such as Balenciaga and Gucci experimenting with the technology too. Republiqe have, however, laid down their claim as the world’s first all digital fashion brand with no plans whatsoever to create physical versions of their garments.

Whilst sustainability is a big driver for Gen Z, who the brand is aimed at, James Gaubert, founder and creative director of republiqe, states that it is not the main reason to purchase. The need to look and feel good online is of great consideration for this younger generation, and if it can be done in a way that’s sustainable, without compromising the world’s finite resources, then fashion brands should embrace this.

As the lines between the physical world we inhabit and the meta or digital world we visit become ever more blurred, could this well and truly become the future of fashion, and just how close are we to living in a multiverse-esque world?

James Gaubert, Founder and Creative Director of Republiqe, stated:
“Our latest collection, which we launched in line with London Fashion Week, is essentially built around an early 2000s revival. We see that as being the next big trend from a Gen Z perspective. There are also major parallels between where virtual fashion is today, and where technology and social media were back in the early 2000s.
Times have changed massively from the early 90s to today and technology can enable us to do things that have never been done before and create change. So that’s what we’re building the foundations of our business on – using technology to create a new subculture or subdivision within the fashion industry that has never existed before.”

Ashwini Deshpande, Head of 3D Design and Production at Republiqe said:
“It was really interesting mixing regular fashion 3D software and virtual reality to create the pieces – something that has not been done before.

As a Gen Zer, we grew up with technology in our hands and our online presence is probably louder than our physical presence. It’s such an exciting thing to be working within Digital Fashion because I’m working on something that I believe is the future.

We (Gen Z) are natural born activists – we care about the environment. You could say there’s a little bit of Greta Thunberg in each and every one of us, yet we’re still conscious about how we look. If we shift just some of our spend away from physical to digital clothing, we’re going to see a positive impact on the environment.”

Garments are e-fitted by Republiqe’s in-house 3D tailors and the final result emailed across to then be shared online allowing them to look good, feel good and save the planet at the same time.

To purchase an item from the new collection, eco-conscious consumers can visit the website here https://republiqe.co/collections where they will be guided on how to upload their image and purchase their digital outfit.