At the Edge of the Metaverse: The Emperor’s Virtual Clothes

At the Edge of the Metaverse: The Emperor’s Virtual Clothes

By Dr. Peter Humphrey, Cultural Theorist & Content Creator

In many articles and reports that cover the metaverse there is one element that is frequently lauded as a defining characteristic of the virtual world’s consumer potential: customisation. It has been hinted that we will be able to create unique avatars that can be clothed in a new form of fashion that is only limited by the confines of our imagination. A promotional video for the Metaverse by the company-formerly-known-as-Facebook inadvertently highlights how limited that imagination might be by showing its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, choosing the exact same clothes that he is wearing in real life during his metaverse escapades. But not to worry. Other, more imaginative people are being sourced and encouraged to create virtual products for this new world.

In 2021 Gucci launched the “Gucci Garden” on the Roblox gaming platform. This immersive experience allowed visitors to try on a catalogue of Gucci designs in a virtual setting, as a quote from the Roblox blog relates:

“As they enter the Gucci Garden experience visitors will shed their avatars becoming a neutral mannequin. Without gender or age, the mannequin symbolizes that we all begin our journeys through life as a blank canvas. Wandering through the different rooms, visitors’ mannequins absorb elements of the exhibition. With every person experiencing the rooms in a different order and retaining different fragments of the spaces, they will emerge at the end of their journey as one-of-a-kind creations, reflecting the idea of individuals as one among many, yet wholly unique.”

You would be forgiven for thinking that you were undergoing a Kabbalistic baptism into the house of Gucci based on this description. In the fashion giant’s Eden, humanity returns to its natural, nude state with no snakes in sight, and yet there is a kind of capitalistic genius at work here: the garden visitor must be stripped bare in order to be re-clothed at Gucci prices.

A few samples from the Gucci Garden catalogue:

Gucci Guitar case, 900 Robux:

Gucci Feather and Crystals Headpiece, 900 Robux:

Gucci Dionysus Bag with Bee, 475 Robux (according to PC Gamer somebody paid 4000 IRL dollars for this bag.):

Trying out a look in the Gucci Garden:

The 1938 Paris Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme included a Parisian “street” lined with mannequins decorated in unusual ways. For the surrealists, the mannequin represented an intermediary space between the animate and inanimate, the individual and the mass produced, the subject and the object, etc. The more utopian strains of metaverse thought seem to relish the opportunity for a body without organs - a mannequin. However, unlike surrealism, there is no critique or ambiguity, and that shouldn’t be surprising as there is no surrealism at all - the metaverse clings to a sense of reality even as it tries to overcome it.

If you watch enough videos and comments on the metaverse you’ll notice a familiar liturgy to any question of, “How does this work in the metaverse?” The sanctioned response seems to be, “Just like in real life!” The same is true of metaverse products. Yat Siu, an investor and entrepreneur, sees metaverse consumption as an extension of our own current spending habits:

“In my opinion, the cost of most things we pay for today, is linked to the prestige, social status value of the item versus the actual cost of the material. For instance, when you buy a Nike shoe or a Gucci bag, you are paying not only for the utility value.”

In social theory this is old stuff, and usually French. Thorstein Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption (purchasing things for their status) appeared in his 1899 book, The Theory of the Leisure Class, Roland Barthes’ The Fashion System (1967) further explored how fashion choice communicates certain things, whilst Jean Baudrillard argued that the signifying value of products had completely usurped any notion of functionality in The Consumer Society (1970). So I guess metaverse champions aren’t wrong to point out the equivalences of consumer habits IRL and beyond. But again, it is not particularly imaginative. It really is just a simulation of what we already have now. Is that a good thing? The theorists who traced the evolution of consumer habits certainly wouldn’t think so.

So will “creative communities” of the world unite in the Metaverse? There are already fantastic tales of Web 3.0 creators such as 12 year old, Benyamin Ahmed’s NFT creations selling for six-figure sums, and digital shoe designers, RTFKT studios, being bought out by Nike. Roblox have a growing community of creatives dedicated to the design of new products for their platform and many investors are betting on Gen Z to power consumer demand in the metaverse. I now feel like a disillusioned millennial but there is, I believe, one thing that is lost in all the arguments for virtual status symbols. Whilst Yat Siu notes that you never just pay for the utility value of a piece of clothing, you do get it anyway. In real life, regardless of whether your coat was obtained from Gucci or your grandmother, it will also keep you warm. It may have social and cultural capital but it still has a base level functionality - one that will be increasingly useful as all our energy bills go up. As the virtual Gucci Garden showed, you might as well as be naked in the Metaverse, you get to choose your own body anyway. Just don’t eat any apples.

In true Jigsaw Foresight fashion, and because I am a musician & musicologist, here is your soundtrack for reading this article.

Flo Fashion - Sway (2006)

One from my childhood. A witty and hilarious take on the pitfalls of keeping up with fashion. A grime classic.

We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off - Jermaine Stewart (1986)

A playful reference to the Gucci Garden. Classic 80s jam, amazing rhythm guitar - under appreciated.

Mall Rat - Jerry Martin (2000)

Anyone who grew up playing The Sims knows the soundtrack for buy mode. I hope there is something as warmly comforting to my ears when buying things in the metaverse...

Sketches and Provocations of a Portly Wooden Mannequin - Erik Satie (1913)

Satie wrote lots of piano pieces about weird things, this one is, appropriately for us, about a mannequin. Satie actually began work on a comic opera where the entire performance would be staged by marionettes but it was never performed in his lifetime.

Find Out What’s On Carrie Bradshaw’s iPod - James Ferraro (2013)

A conceptual, experimental sound artist, James Ferraro would be the in-house composer for my own metaverse. He started off making hazy lo-fi ambient pieces on faded memories of 1980s media and now has turned to a more clean, digital sound exploring futuristic themes. This one is a surreal soundscape of Midi strings sounds and upbeat, 1990s corporate optimism.

Gadda-da-vida - Boney M

To round out the Garden of Eden references in this post check out this bizarre yet weirdly enjoyable disco version of Gadda-da-vida by Boney M.

References:

https://ir.citi.com/gps/x5%2BFQJT3BoHXVu9MsqVRoMdiws3RhL4yhF6Fr8us8oHaOe1W9smOy1%2B8aaAgT3SPuQVtwC5B2%2Fc%3D