#014 The Best Digital Fashion Disses
WARNING! CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT
In October 2021 I made my debut on Not The News – a South Carolinan news channel with hundreds of thousands of viewers.
As the segment was titled 'The Future of Fashion May Be Virtual Outfits’ I expected the FOX affiliated anchors to explore the rise of gaming through an Americana tinted lens. But instead they trolled me. With a laser focus on how the Carolina Herrera x
dress I wore on Instagram accentuated certain body parts…
Let’s pour one out for journalistic integrity.
When they go low, we go online.
In the words of footballer David Beckham ‘people react to criticism in different ways and my way is to come out fighting’
But that’s not always easy to do when you work in digital fashion.
When the market’s up, and work’s going well, the friction is fine. But in times when you’re scrambling to cross the chasm, the snark can really sting.
So to draw and quarter any bad vibes, this week I collected criticisms received by my followers on Instagram and Twitter, along with leaders in the Web3 space in response to their interest in digital fashion, to give you:
Six stupendous slurs (and how to respond to them)
Segmented by genre!
Type 1: The philosophical critique
‘Digital clothes are “almost a hollow façade of what clothing really is”’ – Blane’s Style Files, Oxford Student University Newspaper
The critic: Cutting and well written, the philosophical critique confronts issues around materiality and self-expression. It’s levied by individuals who read Milan Kundera at aged 5, and let Berger's Ways of Seeing slip out their 'Strand' / 'Daunt Books' bag whenever they see an opportunity.
The rebuttal: This insult ignores the fact that the world is composed of sub-communities, all with different interests, and routes to self expression. Digital fashion is certainly NOT for everyone, but as we live in an era where 60% of Gen-Z believe that what they wear online is more important than what they wear in person, it certainly is for some. NEXT.
Type 2: The aesthetic angle
‘Digital Fashion is ugly’ – A Senior Fashion Editor to Vogue Business Editor Maghan McDowell
The critic: The fashion industry insider’s critique of choice, this insult comes from those with shrines to Phoebe Philo. They never buy pieces from up-and-coming designers, think Demna at Balenciaga is a travesty and slagged off the Metaverse in 2022 whilst secretly considering buying a Bored Ape at the top.
The rebuttal: This insult is reductive. Much like saying ‘all Balenciaga is ugly’ it simultaneously ignores the fact that ugly is so in right now and judges thousands of designs from a limited sample. Furthermore, as digital fashion is a tooling stack, a medium for creation, every style imaginable can and will be made. So, whilst right now you might associate digital fashion with its sometimes dubious aesthetics (Matrix 2045 anyone?), in a few years there will be something for everyone. Plus have you seen the work of Yimeng Yu? NEXT.
Type 3: The degradation of skill
‘I got called out by a bitter designer saying “it’s all AI” although I’ve spent years learning CLO and IRL sewing’ – Digital Designer @Traumitza after her work was praised in the Bosnian press
The critic: They’re working a lower level job at a large fashion house. They're paid in excess fabrics and lie awake at night questioning whether they wasted their life on a Saint Martins degree. Although they spend all their spare time at the V&A they boycott the increasingly frequent digital fashion exhibitions, and used to have a Tumblr filled with quotes from Coco Chanel.
The rebuttal: When thrown this banger it’s crucial to remember that the value of craft is built on comprehension. From Chanel’s tours around their Métiers d'art, to McQueen explaining the importance of Beetled Linen, decades of education go into helping people understand why a thing is hard to do and hence why its outputs hold value.
On this point, technology and fashion generate friction because whilst one is obsessed with efficiency, the other fetishises difficulty (see Couture house brags about how arduous their pieces are to make). BUT watch any
livestream and it becomes clear that no, your six year old could not make this. And neither could you. NEXT.Type 4: The case for cashflow
‘I’m not sure that imagination is a business per se… “Hello Sir that will be an imaginary 1 million dollars for this imaginary dress’” – my ex-boyfriend when he heard I was raising money to build a digital fashion company
The critic: If you’re blissfully unaware that your kids are spending their college fund on Robux this is your insult of choice. You’ve likely held the same job for 15+ years, in a sector that was around since the advent of the Steam Engine. And whilst articles on AI replacing humans sometimes trigger some doom-googling, you’re convinced that you’ll be long gone by the time the robots catch up.
The rebuttal:
If confronted by this type of slur, try replying with one of these stock stats:
In the first 9 months of 2023, $2.39 billion worth of Robux was purchased on Roblox
Fortnite made $50 million from a single set of virtual outfits (skins) in 2021
The global Fashion Metaverse market was valued at US $7.1 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US $89.6 billion by 2032
And watch your critic’s eyes widen/ jaws drop into a Jim Carey Mask-esque expression until they fearfully retreat back to their spreadsheets. NEXT.
Type 5: The general troll
‘The Barbie movie had better graphics/ this is so silly lol/ please people leave your house and experience life!/ a case of the emperor's new clothes/ read digital as IMAGINARY'– a selection of comments from a Metaverse Fashion Week post on the Vogue Runway Instagram
The critic: Keyboard warriors who think they’re tech savvy because they know that Facebook was renamed to Meta. Often middle-aged Karens scrolling while knitting or men who DM models on Instagram thinking they’ll actually reply.
The rebuttal: In the words of JK Rowling ‘anyone can speak troll all you have to do is point and grunt’. NEXT.
Type 6: The visceral reactionary
– Charli Cohen, Founder of RSTLSS & Charli Cohen
The rebuttal:
Smile sweetly and hold eye contact until they run away in abject terror. NEXT.
To end in earnest
You can find a full index of the insults I collected over the course of last week in this Twitter thread. And I’d love for you to comment with your own rebuttals.
However, it’s important to note that whilst 90% of our critics spout bearish BS, our industry could benefit from more critique from the right people.
Due to the onslaught of insults from outside, the digital fashion community has historically shied away from discussions of where projects have gone wrong. And whilst well intentioned, this does us all a disservice.
As in all aspects of life, constructive criticism is necessary. Not only does it help us understand our flaws, it also shows the world that we aren’t blind to our own imperfections.
Digital fashion is a nascent industry, one which relies on winning over luxury leaders (some the most critical people in the world) in order to survive. So every time we praise bad work, we appear to misunderstand the quality level which our partners expect, and which we should strive for. Plus we fail to improve.
So seek out the disses that make you better. And for those that don’t simply🖕 and waltz away.
I probably heard all of those while explaining what I work with. Always fun to see the reactions. And always a reminder: Don't take offense from people you wouldn't ask for advice.