The British Fashion Council presented a Roblox artist with the first fashion award for metaverse design

It’s nearly impossible to be on the internet today without hearing about the intangible encroach of the metaverse on our lives, particularly in the fashion sphere where digital clothing is tipped as the future for major brands and emerging designers alike. Last week, the British Fashion Council took another step to cement that forecast with the first Fashion Award for Metaverse Design with Roblox. The award was announced as a new category in The Fashion Awards 2021 to “recognise a digital designer who pushes the boundaries and showcases excellence in digital fashion design within the metaverse,” according to the BFC in a recent release.

To coincide with the award, an immersive red carpet event was created on Roblox where the foundation recreated the Royal Albert Hall. In game, players could walk the red carpet, try on their virtual items and watch the awards ceremony presented by Alessandro Michele’s Roblox counterpart.

Faced with a choice between five digital fashion creators who operate in Roblox – cSapphire, GENKROCO, inkwaves, Reverse_Polarity and Sparklings – the judging panel selected cSapphire to take home the award. The winning creator has previously created clothes for the Gucci UGC collaboration and currently operates a clothing boutique on Roblox. As of July 2021, cSapphire has sold over 2.5 million copies of virtual clothes.

From Balenciaga’s new metaverse unit to Stefan Cooke designing for the Sims, the award is the latest in a growing move towards collaboration between creatives in both the fashion and gaming communities. Caroline Rush, BFC chief executive and member of the judging panel stated: “By awarding the platform’s creators we are recognising the powerful global impact of digital fashion on communities around the world, its ability to create new trends in fashion, as well as the incredible opportunities it provides for talented young creators. I was blown away by the work, and creativity of all the nominees and am looking forward to exploring The Fashion Awards experience in the metaverse.”