Taking High Fashion Digital

DARIA SHAPOVALOVA, NATALI AM ODENOVA FOUNDERS, DRESSX

It’s a familiar trend to fashionistas: Buy an outfit, show it off on Instagram, then return or trash it—an often expensive and environmentally destructive habit (the fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters). Shapovalova and Modenova are hoping to change that cycle, working with high-fashion brands and 3D designers to create a marketplace of digital styles that cost a fraction of what consumers would pay for physical clothing and accessories (prices typically range from around $20 to $50).

Here’s howitworks: Shoppers digitally “try on” clothing made of pixels vs. textiles via an augmented-reality tool, choose their items, then send in a photo of themselves. Within a day or two, an image of them “wearing” the outfit arrives via email, ready to be shared on social media.

In addition to its own designs, DRESSX features outfits from more than 100 designers, including Patrick Mcdowell, Gary James Mcqueen and The Fabricant; this year it’s also partnering with the luxury retail platform Farfetch on a pre-order campaign of digitized looks from brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Off-white. Also in the works: an NFT offering on Crypto.com that will include limited-edition styles through a dedicated

digital storefront. —M.G.