The chatter around what the metaverse could mean in the years to come continues to intensify – including in the Middle East. Indeed, the English-language Abu Dhabi-published newspaper, The National, has recently reported that the metaverse industry could be worth a whopping $13 trillion by the end of this decade, with fashion and luxury retail accounting for $50 billion of that. 

Has your lifestyle, luxury, or fashion brand been reflecting on 2022, and considering how you can follow many of your industry peers by adopting elements of Web3 strategy? If so, the news that the Web3 fashion accelerator programme Dream Assembly Base Camp has just confirmed its second cohort of start-up talent, could be of interest to you. 

Dream Assembly Base Camp is the brainchild of ecommerce marketplace Farfetch and the leading Web3 accelerator and venture capital firm, Outlier Ventures. 

A range of start-ups has been announced for the programme’s second cohort. These businesses present a variety of solutions in relation to such vital aspects of fashion retail as customer engagement, data infrastructure, loyalty rewards and community, and payment and commerce infrastructure. 

The start-ups in question are reported to include Me Protocol, Decommerce, Solaire, Nettle, SPIN by Lablaco, Numbers Protocol, and Wovn. 

“Cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of luxury commerce” 

The Dream Assembly Base Camp programme will take place remotely over 12 weeks, and will address such subjects as luxury data infrastructure, digital fashion experience, community tools, self-representation, and sustainability. 

Start-ups participating in the scheme will be supported by a network of mentors from the fashion, technology, and Web3 spaces, in addition to investors. 

Farfetch’s Senior Director of Product Innovation, Carol Hilsum, said that “the level of maturity and progress of the ecosystem has taken a significant step forward.” 

She added, in a statement: “The companies joining us are creating innovative tools and experiences that will greatly support the Web3 opportunities for the luxury sector”. 

Meanwhile, Blake Lezenski – Outlier Ventures’ Partner Program Director – has said that the focus of the programme is the development of the start-ups’ “cutting-edge technology to meet the needs of luxury commerce.” 

Web3 looks set to continue profoundly influencing – and even upending – the fashion sector

The inaugural cohort for Outlier Ventures x Farfetch Dream Assembly Base Camp included the likes of Web3 platform METAV.RS, avatar platform Reblium, and the Web3 commerce enabler Mintouge. 

On a backdrop of all manner of applications for Web3 technology continuing to emerge in the fashion industry, and programmes like Dream Assembly Base Camp helping to make exciting developments in this regard happen so much sooner, there is plenty of reason for fashion brands – both old and new – to consider what steps they could take with their own Web3 strategy. 

Indeed, your own brand might not even yet have a Web3 strategy – but if there was ever a time to start taking those instrumental steps to put such a strategy in place, it is surely now. 

To learn more about the role that a partnership between your brand and Skywire London could have in supporting the development and growth of your fashion, lifestyle, or luxury business, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our strategic, digital, and creative experts today.