404ABSENT is one of the newest fashion brands in Macau, having only been established at the beginning of this year, by partners Fiona Sam and KC, with a particular focus on ‘Metafashion’.
“We established our company FE Digital Art and our brand 404ABSENT as a Metafashion company, focusing on sustainable and applicable fashion products,” explains Fiona. “We have already released one NFT Story Collection, in which we combine fashion and storytelling, to present our brand’s philosophy.”
This year’s Macao Fashion Festival had strong themes of technology and the Metaverse, a perfect match for this new brand.
“We were very excited to join MFF this year, and we’re happy to see that the local fashion industry is adapting different ways to present fashion products. This is a big change because it also implies people are more willing to accept fashion in different ways, like virtual ones. This means a lot to our business,” Fiona comments.
“Behind the concept of the Metaverse and NFTs, it’s all about the technology of creating virtual art and experiences. When it comes to the fashion industry, that means not only presenting, but also the ways of creating, promoting and wearing. And that’s what our brand has been working on.”
The designs of 404ABSENT feature lots of tech-inspired looks, like their signature circuit board pattern. And during the production process, they also created virtual products based on real garment patterns. In the near future, they even plan to develop an AR filter so that their customers can try on their virtual items.
Against a backdrop of virtual designs, 404ABSENT also presented their ‘real’ seasonal range on this year’s catwalk, with the theme of ‘Reconstruction’.
“It’s based on the idea of the reconstruction of human bodies and garments, with inspirations of ribs, androids and gundam,” says the designer. “You can see knitwear with rib patterns, and products mixing two garment ideas together into one. Also, this time we used patch works to give the idea of our brand’s signature circuit board pattern.”
In the coming year, the design duo will focus on following up their current collection with more new designs, as well as developing their AR filter. They also hope to work more closely with other local brands who are interested in exploring the area of virtual fashion.
“I cannot predict the future, but I think that NFTs offer a chance to let Macau designs become known on the international stage, if virtual fashion can become a selling point of Macau designs,” offers Fiona. “Imagine the case that when we think about Macau design, we immediately link it to virtual fashion.”
