From Threads to Pixels: Inside Adriana Pereira’s Vision for Digital Fashion

3 min readOct 17, 2023

Welcome to the Hatched Podcast! Today, we’ve got a treat for you. Meet Adriana Pereira, the brilliant mind behind The Fabricant, an awesome digital fashion powerhouse in the Web3 world. In this episode, Adriana’s going to dive into her journey from traditional fashion to the dazzling digital frontier, the challenges and opportunities in the industry, and her vision for the future.

A Bit About Adriana

Adriana is quite the powerhouse: an entrepreneur, investor, mentor, advisor, you name it! While she’s rocked leadership roles in multinational corporations, her true passion lies in transforming the fashion industry through technology. She co-founded The Fabricant in 2018 alongside Amber and Kerry, each bringing a unique background to the table.

Amber, the creative director and designer, made history as the first graduate from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute with a digital-only collection. Kerry, a creative technologist with a background in film and advertising, added technical depth to the team. Adriana, with her fashion and retail background, offered invaluable insights on the business side of the fashion world.

So, what’s The Fabricant all about? Well, its mission is to revolutionize the fashion industry, making it more creative, sustainable, and equitable. They believe in creating a new fashion culture in the digital realm, where self-expression through fashion knows no bounds. Their journey started with the belief that fashion could be redefined through technology, from 3D samples to immersive experiences.

While the fashion industry initially struggled to grasp this concept in 2018, the digital landscape has evolved dramatically. Today, the significance of fashion in the digital realm is undeniable, with billions of users expressing themselves through digital fashion in various ways.

The Changing Landscape of Fashion

Adriana highlights the transition of the fashion industry toward the digital. Once upon a time, the idea of digital threads for our online avatars seemed too futuristic. But now, the numbers speak for themselves.

Fortnite, a popular game, generates more revenue from selling digital fashion items called skins, than some traditional fashion brands.

“It’s very well understood that Fortnite, which is a game that sells skins, has more revenue annually than Balenciaga, which is kind of mind-blowing.”

This shift is a testament to the growing importance of digital fashion in our lives. Adriana emphasizes that the fashion industry is starting to recognize this and adapt to the changing landscape. Traditional fashion houses are not immune to these changes. They have begun to embrace digital fashion as a new business model.

“The conversation has moved from ‘this is a one-off marketing trick’ to ‘this is a new business model’. Balenciaga actually partnered with Fortnite to launch skins in the game. They paid for it, they made money out of it.”

Digital Fashion as a Path for Aspiring Designers

Digital fashion opens up new opportunities for aspiring designers. While traditional fashion education remains valuable, the rise of digital tools allows a new wave of designers to bypass some of the traditional routes. Young creatives skilled in software like Blender or Photoshop can create digital fashion without the need for physical materials. This shift in the industry will likely lead to a fusion of digital and physical fashion aesthetics.

Digital fashion has also made the fashion industry more inclusive and accessible. Web3 technology enables smaller designers to build communities and monetize their creations without producing physical fashion items. The key challenge is to create technology that seamlessly integrates digital fashion into various digital occasions, providing users with a user-friendly experience. The future of digital fashion is all about enhancing the wearing occasion, enabling individuals to express themselves digitally.

What’s Next for The Fabricant?

Looking ahead, The Fabricant hopes to be your first stop for the most unique digital fashion finds. As more and more of us step into the world of digital fashion, The Fabricant aims to lead the way in providing high-quality, innovative, and sustainable digital fashion experiences for users worldwide.

Adriana Pereira’s switch from classic to cutting-edge digital fashion with The Fabricant is a heartening tale of fresh ideas and sheer grit. The Fabricant isn’t just making clothes for the online world; they’re changing the way we think about fashion. They’re not just keeping up with the digital age; they’re setting the pace.

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