Non-profit organisation, Digital Fashion Designer’s Council, which includes illustrious fashion brands, digital ateliers, fashion designers and industry leaders, launched Fashion Week Connect, a series of events conceptualised to promote phygital fashion, earlier this month. 

What is Fashion Week Connect? 

Addressing fashion brands’ daunting task of interoperability between platforms by connecting their digital ecosystems with tangible products and experiences, not- for- profit organisation Digital Fashion Designer’s Council offers a cohesive experience across all touch-points with the launch of its flagship event series, “Fashion Week Connect.” 

The umbrella event series is an innovative cross-platform program of experiences, seamlessly integrating the physical and digital worlds of fashion via newly developed infrastructure. Fashion Week Connect will also feature activations across major cities, including Paris, New York, London, and Singapore, at events ranging from Digital Fashion Week at the Epic Games HQ in London to Next in Vogue by Vogue Singapore to storefronts and digital activations across the Reality Spectrum. 

Launch Of Fashion Week Connect

The Digital Fashion Designer’s Council launched Fashion Week Connect with their SS25 programming to ensure the largest IRL digital fashion showcase ever. Held at immersive digital art gallery INTER_IAM in New York, the party attracted top names in global fashion including Chanel, Esteé Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Kering, kicking off Fashion Month with a fully immersive fashion experience.

Nicola Formichetti and David Cash. Image Credit: Rory Higginson

The DFDC’s multi-sensory soirée brought Fashion Week Connect to life in spectacular fashion for its debut season. Guests were treated to a host of interactive experiences, immersive installations, and surreal photo opportunities, set against the backdrop of several screens displaying cutting-edge digital fashion. The event also featured 360-degree visuals of virtual fashion runway presentations and art from its council members and members, and interactive environments. 

One of the standout features of the night was the touring AR Mirror Installation by FFFACE.ME, showcasing a collaboration with Prada. The flagship AR Mirror demonstrated the AR Filter created in collaboration with honorary founding DFDC member Ines Alpha for Prada’s Paradoxe Virtual Flower fragrance, a 360-degree immersive fashion runway experience, and 144+ digital and connected fashion creations exhibited throughout the venue. The evening also featured a preview of Summer of Love, presented by Tune.FM, one of the events presenting partners redefining music streaming and artist monetisation.

The event, curated by The DFDC with an exhibit by founder David Cash and council member Dani Loftus, spotlighted over digital fashion displays featuring brands ranging from Balenciaga to Prada, alongside works by digital artists like Antoni Tudisco, Ines Alpha, The Dematerialised, Fvckrender, IoDF, Glitch of Mind, and DRESSX. The launch event of Fashion Week Connect has redefined what it means to engage with digital fashion at Fashion Week, setting a new standard for luxury fashion brands to bring together fashion, technology, and art in one unforgettable multi-sensory experience.

Launch of Fashion Week Connect. Image Credit: Rory Higginson

Digital Fashion Designer’s Council

The Digital Fashion Designers Council is a non- for- profit organisation that leverages digital technology for the fashion industry. With a mission to integrate digital fashion into the traditional fashion ecosystem, it represents a community of fashion designers, fashion brands, technologists, and visionaries who are working hard to revolutionise the fashion landscape. The Council advocates sustainable practices, inclusivity, and the democratisation of fashion through digital mediums, ensuring that the digital future of fashion is accessible, dynamic, and transformative.

Antoni Tudisco, 3D and digital fashion artist who has worked with LVMH, Maison Margiela, Moncler and Balenciaga; Megan Kaspar, managing director at FirstLight and founding member of Red DAO; and fashion photographer, filmmaker Nick Knight are among the visionaries brought together by David Cash to announce the launch of“Digital Fashion Designer’s Council”, which aims to nurture phygital fashion and drive its trajectory.

“We see a ton of power in bridging the digital context that consumers are spending their time in, with the physical world of brands and the physical fashion system,” David Cash, founder and chief executive officer of Digital Fashion Designers Council, told WWD. “[It’s about] just doing a bit of a better job at connecting those points [to] actually provide connectivity, instead of just insinuating this connectivity.” 

The Digital Fashion Designers Council positions itself as the foundational layer between digital and physical fashion, with the purpose of connecting fashion brands with the platforms their digitally-aware consumers spend time in. The Council aims to establish global standards for digital fashion, helping align incentives and fostering the connection of physical and digital fashion ecosystems. 

According to Mike Charalambous, Executive Board member of the Digital Fashion Designers Council: “The DFDC is connecting some of the world’s leading brands with their digitally-native consumers to present a new format of programming. We are supporting brands in creating activities that incentivise users to move between platforms, from social media to game worlds to e-commerce platforms, helping create a 360 user experience in direct collaboration with many of the other incredible technical partners the DFDC has brought together.”

The Digital Fashion Designers Council is dedicated to driving the digital transformation of the fashion industry. It includes representatives from leading fashion brands and digital innovators, supported by entities such as RED DAO, Threedium, DRESSX, Beyond Studio and major social and gaming platforms worldwide. The Council includes notable figures in digital fashion, such as Marjorie Hernandez of DEMAT, Dani Loftus of DRAUP and @thisoutfitdoesnotexist, gmoney of 9dcc, and Natalia Modenova and Daria Shapovalova of DRESSX.