Is the Metaverse a Strategic Marketing Channel for Fashion? Opportunities and Challenges for Marketing Fashion Within the Metaverse

Bibliographic Data

ID17806899
AuthorsGuy id_orcid McKelvey (corresponding author), Guy McKelvey (0000-0002-7456-8075)
Year2026
Pages1-20
Publication date2026-02-26
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFashion Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1756-9370 • E-ISSN: 1756-9389
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17569370.2025.2605996
OpenAlexW7133131064
LanguageEN
References cited41

The metaverse, a hyper-interactive digital environment where people work, play, socialise, and shop, is gaining attention as a potential opportunity for the fashion industry to engage Generation Z and other technology-savvy, consumers. Metaverse fashion is a new and exciting way to create, market, and sell fashion products in the virtual space and offers brands opportunities to distinguish themselves in an increasingly crowded marketplace and engage customers more interactively. It allows brands to create immersive experiences, interactively highlight their products, and reach a wider audience. The use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, and virtual fashion could play a significant role in the future of the fashion industry. This paper aims to explore how the metaverse can revolutionise the fashion industry and what fashion executives need to know to tap into this new market. By leveraging this powerful innovative technology, brands have the potential to reach a new generation of consumers and create an unforgettable experience for them but like previous technologies before them they may invest heavily to see lower than expected returns as consumers move elsewhere. This positioning paper will consider and evaluate if, when and how the metaverse is currently marketing fashion and if these approaches are successful and which issues they may face going forward and what future creative opportunities it offers for fashion brands. The paper will also discuss the key technologies and projects most influential and areas of development within fashion marketing in the metaverse

Digital marketing · Fashion industry · Metaverse · Virtual space · Consumer Retail Behavior Studies · Diverse Topics in Contemporary Research · Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts

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