Gowns and Gadgets

So what do gorgeous gowns, beautiful dresses and commerce driven technology have to do with each other? Not much generally, but at the Joysco Fashion show on Sunday evening the two came together in a marriage of convenience to provide Second Life's fashionista with an integrated entertainment and shopping experience hitherto unseen on the catwalks of the Metaverse.

Models on the catwalk wearing dresses designed by Rose Stardust

I was invited backstage by Rose Stardust, or Splendor by Rose designs, one of Second Life's upcoming young designers to see the show, and also to witness how her partnership with Robbie Kiama of MetaMart would give the audience a unique way in which to buy outfits they saw on the catwalk as the models walked by.

Rose Stardust and Savannah Glimmer look on as the models walk on to the catwalk

The MetaMart HUD, also exhibited at the Joysco GSG convention, is a shopping search engine with user comments, ratings and a whole bunch of other useful/fun features profiled here on Metaversed. At the start of the show, each member of the audience was given a copy of the HUD, preloaded with the dresses that would be shown on the catwalk. A neat way to demonstrate the MM technology, and give the audience a convenient way to buy what they saw.

Savannah and Rose pictured with MetaMart creator Robbie Kiama

I spoke to several people in the audience after the show, and they all loved the idea, and quite a few had made purchases. Certainly both Robbie and Rose counted the experiment a success. The buzz and atmosphere at the event was truly amazing. Attendees were chattering away excitedly about the dresses on show, and when asked, were happy to enthuse over the technological aspect as well. It certainly beat watching telly that evening...

Model Rubi Holmer poses for the Metaversed cameras

So if sex drives technological innovation, does fashion drive sales technology? Possibly. It's certainly a fun way to provide easy commerce at such an event and I can imagine similar use cases with auto shows and tech expos for example.

Backstage at the Joysco Fashion Show

Thanks to all the great women taking part in the show and to Rose and Robbie for inviting Metaversed along for the ride!