Scrolling through Twitter, something flowy, stripey and crimson red caught my eye. It was a halterneck dress with perfectly folded pleats and flawless tiger stripes - a virtual garment called the “Year of the Tiger”, created by digital fashion designer Kevin Tung.

I wanted to get to know the Kevin behind the garments and gain a deeper understanding of his work, his passions and inspirations within digital fashion and the web 3 community at large.

The making of Kevin Tung

There is a particularly vivid memory Kevin has about the fashion industry and his potential place within it. Much like a superhero’s origin story, this was the moment that sparked an onset of powerful artistry that he would deem his true-life calling as a budding creative.

“In high school, my mother took me to 5th Avenue for a fun shopping trip. For some reason, we decided to go to the Armani store and I remember trying on an Armani jacket for fun. The second I saw myself in the mirror, I felt like Superman. I never knew fashion could make someone feel that way.”

Kevin’s high school counsellor recognised his talents and advised he attend pre-college classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) which he did, after saving up some money. He applied and was accepted.

“One of my dreams when applying was to join the Fusion Fashion Show. Fusion was an annual competition where FIT and Parsons competed for the title of best fashion school. Notable alumni include Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. In my freshman year, I was 1 of 2 freshmen to represent FIT out of over 500 applicants. It was a confirmation that this is what I was destined to do.”

Whilst at FIT, Kevin travelled to Italy to study knitwear and managed to land an internship at women’s clothing brand Milly. This soon evolved into his first job as a fashion designer. But, Kevin eventually started to feel worn out and drained, and queried whether a job in corporate was for him.

“I felt that I had so much creative potential just being wasted. So I started my own fashion label, Nomad Creative Works, combining my 2 passions: travel and streetwear. My aspiration is to be a part of, and influence, the culture. I want to tell people stories through fashion. That’s why so many of my designs are inspired by history. People often think history is boring but when you can tell the stories from a lens they understand, they are much more intrigued. I want to be the YSL of the metaverse.”

Stepping into the metaverse

Being relatively new to the metaverse myself, I wanted to understand what drew Kevin to this space and how he came across digital fashion.

“I first learned about digital fashion through RTFKT’s Tesla shoe. When I learned that it had a bid for over $60 000, I was blown away. I quickly learned all I could about RTFKT and digital fashion. After seeing all the enthusiasm behind it, I knew it was the future and I wanted to be a part of it.”

The barrier to entry into the realm of digital fashion is another aspect that makes it so appealing. Designers are not constrained by income or professional education in order to create and compete in the space.

“You do not need millions of dollars in financing to create a collection, just a knowledge of Clo3D. You don’t even need to follow the rules of physics. You can create zero-gravity garments. I believe that digital fashion will equalise the playing field and make fashion a true meritocracy.”

As the digital fashion trend continues to sore, the space is becoming more competitive and can seem overwhelming, Kevin explains.

“As a newcomer, it often seems daunting to learn how to do all of these things. However, the community is so encouraging. Not only that, the community is still new and emerging. Many people don’t even know what NFTs are yet. It only drives me to create even more and do my best work.”

And this drive Kevin speaks of is remarkable. His collab with fellow digital fashion designer Stella Achenbach has only exacerbated his talents as a designer. Each of the looks form a part of the Alana (a virtual personality) realm and featured as a collection in Realm Runways for Digitalax in February 2022.

According to the below rationale, each look carries a specific artistic take on modern love.

“The collection is inspired by couture, armour and the journey of finding someone to love while protecting yourself. Each outfit is inspired by a specific action on Tinder: like, reject, and match.”

Look 1

Look 2

Look 3

Working with others to make a vision come to life and further inspire the community is a key part of Kevin’s mantra as a digital fashion designer.

“I feel like this is why big fashion shows are so incredible; the collaboration of high-level talent. It is easy to do things your way but it’s when you collaborate with others that the best ideas come about.”

One of Kevin’s recent virtual garments is a blue halterneck dress with his signature pleats. All proceeds from the sale will go to UkraineDAO which aims to raise funds to assist with the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis currently taking place in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. The full collection can be accessed here:

Follow Kevin on Twitter to keep up with his latest digital fashion drops and witness his creativity as it continues to flourish.