Approaching fashion in the metaverse. A consumer perspective

Although there is not yet a consolidated and shared definition of metaverse, this concept has established itself in recent years within the public debate, in particular within specific markets, such as in the case of fashion. We constantly read in specialized and non-specialized magazines, about brands who landed in the metaverse or opened their first store there, or released their first Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs ). However, the apparent concreteness of these statements corresponds to a widespread confusion from the consumers’ side. The aim of this article is to reflect, starting from the results of a qualitative research on international Millennials and Generation Zed consumers, on the meanings associated with the metaverse, on the overlap between it and the concepts of fashion digitalization and digital clothing; finally on the effective media literacy and expectations of who should be the target of these innovations. In particular, the goal is to investigate the well-known relation between fashion and individual self-presentation within the metaverse.Although there is not yet a consolidated and shared definition of metaverse, this concept has established itself in recent years within the public debate, in particular within specific markets, such as in the case of fashion. We constantly read in specialized and non-specialized magazines, about brands who landed in the metaverse or opened their first store there, or released their first Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs ). However, the apparent concreteness of these statements corresponds to a widespread confusion from the consumers’ side. The aim of this article is to reflect, starting from the results of a qualitative research on international Millennials and Generation Zed consumers, on the meanings associated with the metaverse, on the overlap between it and the concepts of fashion digitalization and digital clothing; finally on the effective media literacy and expectations of who should be the target of these innovations. In particular, the goal is to investigate the well-known relation between fashion and individual self-presentation within the metaverse.