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A $9,500 Virtual Blockchain Dress Is Just the Beginning for Digital Clothes
10 real reasons that unreal clothes are a thing
In case you need to get caught up, here are three crucial things to know about digital stuff.
- Augmented Reality is real. The kids are digitally editing, enriching, and extending themselves every minute of every day using apps on their phones and a shared sense of creative self-representation.
- Virtual influencers are a thing. Lil Miquela is the poster child. Nobody knows exactly what Reggie is building but everybody who knows Reggie is excited. Virtual influencers are making music and some of it is really great — though I don’t know exactly what it means that they are “making” the music.
- For the first time in the history of computers, digital items can be made scarce because of blockchain. (Full Disclosure: I helped create CryptoKitties). This means you can truly own something virtually, and be the only person who owns it, just like the old days.
Now that we’ve got that sorted out, let’s talk about 10 reasons you’re going to spend your real money on outfits made of ones and zeros.
1. People already spend a ton of money on virtual goods
This is not a wave that’s coming. This is already here. People spend lots of money for digital gear in games. I’m not even talking about the stuff that’s useful to the game — just aesthetically pleasing cosmetic items that are digital. These are things that make your character look pretty but are otherwise totally useless. Overwatch alone has done over a billion dollars in sales cosmetics, and virtual goods as a whole are worth over $80 billion a year.
2. Social media is a lie
Lots of posts, especially selfies, are as authentic as a Canal street handbag. And people are fine with it. Check out this treasure trove. From Chinese makeup apps powered by super impressive A.I. to shitty little photo apps that reduce glare. We clearly don’t see the need for our digital self to accurately represent our real self.
