“FIRST IT GOES VIRAL, THEN IT GETS DIGITAL”, in this essay we will…
Where we are headed
The 4th industrial revolution is geared towards blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological, and recent technological advancements have shown that we are much closer to this future than we might imagine. Considering the increase in blockchain and cryptocurrency adaptation, artificial intelligence etc., one begins to develop a deeper understanding about the world around us and its changes, and with that knowledge realises the importance of gaining more insight about our not-so-distant future.
In terms of blurring the lines between the digital and physical specifically, there are different ways this can/would occur however, our pre-existing reliance on digital products eg. Social media, streaming services etc. proves that this is inevitable. For instance, one may argue that the existence of social media platforms allow us to portray the ideal versions of ourselves, one which we may be precluded from portraying in the physical world for various reasons. Similarly, the existence of streaming services reduces the need for physical music selection (CD purchases, vinyl records etc.), narrowing down these physical purchases to music which we treasure personally.
With these, we may already have created our ‘Digital twins’ (however un-identical they may be), and the 4th industrial revolution aims to aid the curation of these identities (physical and digital) in a more accurate fashion (no pun intended).
What this means for fashion/clothing purchase
Again, this could mean many things as we are still in the building stages however, using the concept of digital twins one could make an assumption that the general premise of blurring lines between the physical and digital realms of fashion would involve a reduction in physical clothing production and purchase (a win for sustainability), greater business transparency (via blockchain) and as a result of both, more enlightened ‘piece selection’.
Prep Corp.ai — ‘Digital First’
Prep Corp.ai is a next-gen Web3 fashion label focused on exploring possibilities within the digital space and blurring the lines with the physical.
Operating with a ‘digital-first initiative’, the idea becomes to explore various avenues within the digital realm and bring the consumer into conversation using an understanding of the physical world.
The idea is simple, the digital world presents the opportunity for us to split and merge avenues of ownership, some things could be 100% digital, some things could be 100% physical and some things could encompass both elements. Using digital fashion, we can now give physical credence to our digital thoughts, think of it as clothing to support our ‘avatars’, and clothing that you might purchase and use once (perhaps because of its distinct features) can now be purchased digitally at a fraction of the traditional cost, without cluttering your physical wardrobe. Flying cars may not be the norm, but you are now in the future.
Physical production??
Operating on a digital first initiative does not rule out any physical production, it simply means that the key focus is to lay down infrastructure in preparation for a more-digital future and bring the average consumer into the conversation via both physical and digital means. The premise here is that if the consumer becomes more enlightened and specific about what they purchase physically, clothing companies would need to respond to this by spending more time on product development, transparency and the reduction of waste.
At Prep Corp.ai, we have an established physical supply chain and have spent years on product development, so our digital model is not for lack of adequate consideration.
All things being considered, this means that physical production would occur at a much slower pace, with a commitment towards product development and reduction of waste for a more sustainable future.
COLLECTION 1
Our first avenue is digital composition, (emphasised by Collection 1) a 100% digital collaboration with DressX — A company dedicated to proving that digital clothing is equally as important as physical, and for those reasons a consumer can develop a more sustainable approach to clothing purchase by reducing physical purchases without necessarily “shopping less”. For more information on how this works, watch here.
In essence, this collection exists purely in the digital space as part of our exploration into digital avenues and the possibilities available to the fashion industry within them.
