THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL — BUT WE KNEW THAT

Collaborations are also now going far beyond physical assets, something being explored in particular by Pernod Ricard. Of course, Absolut has long championed LGBTQ+ causes and aligned itself with the community. Its latest collaboration reinforces its alliance with pushing for equality, as well as celebrating that community itself, through its latest work with Drag star Tayce, fashion designer Chet Lo and the Institute of Digital Fashion.

The project called Second Skin Couture aims, according to the brand, “to challenge existing stereotypes and perceptions of fashion and provide a vision of the future — a world where what you wear isn’t tied to the binds of gender, seasonal trends, religious expression, or function”. The team have collaborated to create a translucent ‘second-skin’ garment as part of a series of projects designed to drive conversation and progress in the UK.

What the heck does that last sentence mean? In the real world, Chet Lo has designed a non-gendered garment made of a light, translucent and futuristic fabric and which aims to blur the line between skin and material, “to symbolise how the wearer can express their true and purest self on the outside in future fashion”. The physical garment itself has been modelled by non-binary model and Drag Race UK star, Tayce.

Hold on to your conceptual hats. The garment is also being made available digitally for UK consumers to ‘try on’ in the metaverse, in the Ateliers Institute of Digital Fashion’s metacloset. Got it? The digital filter was made available to access via social media platforms from early May to coincide with the London launch event. According to the brand, the project is intended to inspire people to show their true identities.