Virtual Fashion: Sustainability In New Age of Tech

Written and 2D Designed By Mikayla Buneta

Photography By Autumn Adams

Modeled by Bryesen Cooper, Mollie Williams, & Lily Elcan

Browzwear Models Provided By Hadley Berry, Britney Spagenberg, Koli Croy, Vyda Firsby, Madi Brady

Since the beginning of the digital age, character customization has captivated the user scene. As a kid, I always wanted to dress the same as my on-screen character in Animal Crossing or Splatoon (although Japanese fashion has made this a reality, alas, too late for my taste.) Now, with the combination of fast fashion and disposable materials, any style of clothing is extremely accessible to the public at an inexpensive price. 

Because of the fast-paced transitions through trends, many teens buy clothes that fit an aesthetic, but never wear them again once they go out of style. The accumulation of a young person’s closet can be frightening. Nevertheless, technology is here to fulfill our stylistic dreams. 

DressX, a fashion company, has been developing and fine-tuning this idea for a few years now, since August of 2020. Each of the garments is made by a specific designer, who has meticulously gone through the hard work of coding to make these metalooks wearable. There are successes around this concept. Take DressX designer Camey Liu, who made “Amphitrite.” Since it does not exist physically, the rules of gravity do not apply to the design. The piece features hanging water droplets and floating fabrics. The material has no confines itself, leading Liu to create beautiful metallic, fluid fabrics. 

Although the use of high-tech softwares and computers may seem like an energy vampire, it is quite the opposite. Physical garments are expedited with the side product of water waste, chemicals and microplastic shedding. Digital fashion does not touch any of these factors, and actually produced 97% less carbon emissions than that of physical pieces. Just the substitution of 1% of physical garments can save 5 trillion liters of water.

Since this is still a fairly new concept, there are drawbacks. As it can only be seen through the screen, this limits the audience to those who wish to share them online. It is great for influencers, but not so much for the average student who wants to wear new clothes for class. It can become a conversation surrounding classism in the digital experience; this creates a space that is limited to users who can pay for extra pieces, subscriptions and models. Now with the up and coming Apple Vision Pro, the spatial computer for the eyes can jumpstart the era of digital wear. With discussions about its placement of value in the world, the digital experience is now accessible to consumers, designers and fashion lovers alike!