This year’s Met Gala was the perfect place to take in the unique aesthetic of Iris van Herpen’s work. Seen on a red carpet next to traditionally designed frocks, the otherworldly nature of Van Herpen’s vision is crystal clear. One reason for this is the technology she uses to make her clothes. Fifteen years after founding her business, the Dutch designer is considered a veteran in digital fashion. Focusing solely on haute couture, she and her team pioneered the use of 3-D printing in fashion, making ethereal, futuristic, and magical creations that cemented her reputation as a designer melding fashion and tech. The house has paved a way for others to design garments using these advancements, yet the pieces are still very much physical and IRL.
Virtually opposite to that is DressX, the digital wardrobe for the closet you never knew you needed. Founders Daria Shapovalova and Natalia Modenova are Ukrainian entrepreneurs with backgrounds in fashion sales, marketing, and journalism. The duo put Ukraine on the international fashion map by founding Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days and More Dash, a commercial sales showroom, and Shapovalova established the Kiev Fashion Institute where Modenova curated the fashion business course. Together, they also established the Fashion Tech Summit.
Since its 2020 launch, DressX has made them ones to watch in the cohort of entrepreneurs blending fashion and tech. The platform took Shapovalova and Modenova to the next frontier, the Metaverse. They recently hosted a fashion show, exhibition, and pop-up with Metaverse Travel Agency during the first Metaverse Fashion Week. The duo also recently nabbed a nomination for the 2022 LVMH Innovation Award.
joined Van Herpen, Shapovalova, and Modenova via Zoom. The DressX partners sported digital earrings, designed in chandelier style in the colors of the Ukraine flag, which were a fundraising item the duo launched
