Do we need to pay attention to digital clothes?
Yes.
No seriously, I always think that the world is ending whenever a new technology replaces something that we are used to, but this is the first time I ever felt excited because of a new tech era.
So here is why you should pay more attention to digital clothes:
Digital clothes won’t contribute to textile waste:
I am a climate activist and a Gen Z, so you can probably imagine my climate anxiety.
The textiles and clothing industry is one of the major contributors to our climate crisis. Fast fashion has a HUGE impact on it:
Encouraging unnecessary consumption, forced labor, awful working environments, more than one billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, usage of horrible fibers and limited recycling options are what makes fast fashion fast fashion: a horrible thing.
With DIGITAL CLOTHES these concerns barely exist. If most of us opt for a sustainable capsule wardrobe and seek digital clothing as a way to spice up outfits and have fun styling pieces together DIGITALLY that is definitely greener than buying all of our impulsive fashion desires.
Digital clothes are a great alternative when you live in a small space:
I mean the only place that’s taken is digitally.
I really hate clutter, not thrifted clothes clutter though. I am just being honest here. Digital clothes won’t take any physical space, so this is a great option to have if you want to maintain a minimal lifestyle or if you live in a small place but don’t want to sacrifice having a lot of clothing items.
Digital clothes are affordable. Kinda:
Affordability is relative but logically if we cut mass production, storing, delivery expenses etc then the prices are going to be low right?
The logical pricing strategy is as follows:
- paying the designer for their work
- paying the platform or the application where these designs are going to be listed in
If the designer/designers have their own website, then prices can get lower.
Digital clothes are a great invention for content creators:
I am a content creator and maybe that’s another reason why I am very excited about DC.
Content creators tend to feel the need to always have new outfits or else they are going to be irrelevant. Creators need to ride waves or else they will drown and that’s exactly why all your favorite content makers: celebrities and influencers have new outfits every week or so.
It is almost like a crime to repeat an outfit and that way of thinking is terrible for the environment, but I also understand that it is a result of the pressure that commenters give when an outfit gets repeated.
Digital clothes can come in handy in situations like this: the content creator can upload new content with new styles and pieces with just a few clicks.
It is a very time saving thing because no fitting (digital clothes have no size and that’s actually another good thing about it: diversity and inclusivity are inevitable in digital clothing) or shipping is needed.
Digital clothes seem to be a revolutionary invention in general but don’t forget that it can still:
- have a bad environmental impact if it is going to be powered by nonrenewable energies
- be a digital clutter
- have diversity concerns because no industry is immune from racism. You can read more about it here: https://medium.com/technology-hits/racism-inequality-in-technology-a61cc07ad1ed
I started paying attention to digital clothes when I first watched Hanifa’s virtual fashion show. That show changed the fashion game, and you can’t prove me wrong. It was one of the most memorable fashion moments amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
I genuinely think that digital clothes are great overall but like any new thing: only time can tell us so until then let’s try to clean the mess caused by real clothes.
