Quick take:
- The oceanic metaverse experience includes digital sculptures.
- Many of the art pieces are inspired by the pages of Vogue September issues and digital fashion.
- The Vogue Meta-Ocean was kickstarted by Vogue China to build on a previous metaverse creation.
Global Vogue titles today unveiled its metaverse experience dubbed Vogue Meta-Ocean. The experience includes an above-water and underwater world featuring the works of 24 artists nominated by editorial teams from global Vogue titles including India, Australia, Mexico and Latin America, Japan and China.
The artworks in this oceanic metaverse experience include digital sculptures and pieces inspired by the pages of Vogue September issues and digital fashion, with more artists and art to be added gradually.
“Fashion has always been about creative freedom and about challenging norms. Whether or not you’re already getting dressed in a metaverse, the new thinking in digital fashion and virtual fashion is fascinating to see,” says Anna Wintour, chief content officer of Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue. “Designers who work in this way are only going to become more known and more influential, and I will be eager to see what they do next.”
According to Vogue, some of the artists who have contributed to Meta-Ocean include India’s Anushka Tendolkar, who created sculptures as part of the underwater city of Atlantis; France’s Samy LaCrapule, who drew from Italian Renaissance canons to create Bottega Veneta, Versace and Valentino statues; and China’s Momo Chen, whose work (originally created for Vogue China’s January issue) captures the five elements as defined by Chinese philosophers.
The Vogue Meta-Ocean initiative was kickstarted by Vogue China to build on a previous metaverse creation called Infni+ (pronounced Infinity), an avatar that graced the cover of a companion title called Vogue +. Infni+ was designed by Chinese digital artist Cattin Tsai, using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and its backstory was conceptualised by a group of Chinese writers, artists, poets and virtual avatar talent.
Tsai was the guest editor of Vogue China’s June issue and also contributed works inspired by marine life to support ocean conservation.
The Meta-Ocean was created to house Infni+, which will extend the avatar’s concept beyond the pages of Vogue, said Vogue China editor-in-chief Margaret Zhang.
“The ocean as a concept is so global, so we used it as her origin story to showcase digital art and talent around the world and how digital fashion changes the way we approach shoots”, Zhang adds.
Meta-Ocean plans to offer digital collectible and NFT sales in partnership with luxury NFT platform TRLab – subject to regulatory laws – to promote ocean literacy and awareness.
Stay up to date:
