Having only been a part of the digital fashion community for just under a year, I was naturally seeking a guiding hand through the hustle and bustle of the web3 ecosystem. One name kept popping up in conversations and on social media - Javier Guzmán Fidalgo aka Javo.
Javo humbly describes himself as a “Father, housband, brother, son”, according to his Twitter bio. But, for me, I would type a rather different description. Something along the lines of “web3 fashion pioneer, aspiring digital design lead, all-round media mogul and of course, family man”.
Javo is very much a web3 trailblazer in his own right and the glue that holds all the creators together. He is a creator himself, pushing an AI-generated fashion line of his own, a co-founder of the web3 fashion network and a DRESSX ambassador.
Curious as usual, I was eager to learn more about Javo and how he became the rare crypto asset worth minting.
Community builder
Way back in 2016, Javo was already well-versed in blockchain analysis and trading. It wasn’t until early 2022 that he dove into the world of NFTs. Art, a core passion of Javo’s, was the driving force behind his interest in this particular aspect of web3.
Absorbing as much information as he could, Javo started to delve a little deeper, and trying to fathom what is considered valuable within the space. This value came in the form of utility such as PFP dressing and clothing one’s avatar. But, for Javo, that was just the beginning.
“Once I understood how relevant digital fashion would be, my first idea was to create a digital store and wardrobe linked to real garments,” Javo says. “I ran with this idea with a friend who implements blockchain projects for companies and he, knowing about NFTs and video games, told me that this was a great idea and I should look for more.”
And that’s exactly what Javo did. He asked more questions, reached out to more people and began to accumulate knowledge and experience within the digital fashion realm.
“At one point or another, I entered ALANA the Web3 Girl’s Discord server, a project that continues to be my place of reference on web3,” Javo says. “From there, I met Mo from RAW DAO and I loved his learn-to-earn model. I eventually became a moderator for RAW and learned a lot of things there. We came up with the idea of creating a fashion centre and, from there, I started looking for all the brands and designers in the space to create a vision of the digital fashion market.”
After a month or so, and a few more Discord chats, Javo mentioned to virtual jeweller Jevels that the community should start hosting spaces in order to hear and learn from major players in the digital fashion game.
“To my surprise, Nix from DRESSX saw that message and replied, ‘LET'S DO IT!’. From there, we started with the idea of Fashion Fridays and contacted many projects and designers for the spaces,” Javo says.
Fashion Fridays has taken off as a popular Twitter space, offering insights into the latest digital fashion projects, trends and up-and-coming designers. This is where the Web3 Fashion Network was first concieved, a hub for creatives to connect and elarn about the emerging digital fashion industry.
Power player
Towards the end of last year, Javo won the Best Utility category for a digital fashion design contest hosted by ALANA the Web3 Girl. His sketch caught the attention of the judges because of the way in which he encapsukated the idea of utility in his design sketch.
“I have always thought that less is more and looking for efficiency and beauty in simple things is my passion,” Javo explains. “The shoulder half-piece resembles the idea that you should always have a part of your body in contact with your surroundings in order to live the experiences to their fullest.”
The recent upward trend in artificial intelligence (AI) in the digital fashion space naturally caught Javo’s attention and it wasn’t long before he began experimenting with its capabilities. Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are the two technologies ranked highly on his list. And, I must say, the images he has generated thus far are breathtaking.
“I tasked myself with just playing, playing and playing with the software until very crazy and beautiful things were created,” Javo says. “From there, I quickly focused on my ideas and began to look for styles with which I totally identify with and can relate to. And, thanks to Stella Achenbach’s advice, I started to research designers and how they reflect their ideas and emotions in fashion.”
There was one designer who stood out for Javo particularly - Hussein Chalayan.
“When I saw his designs and the way he expresses things, I immediately thought, ‘Wow, he is a real visionary’,” Javo says. “I love solid colours and contrast looks. I love music and, being a musician myself, I also love the feelings and vibrations that emanate from it. I have music in my head all day, everyday. I have songs and rhythms that have been with me for years which are infinite. So, like Midjourney, the tool itself does not create the art, the person wielding the instrument or tool does.”
Ahead of the curve
Although Javo does not have any plans in the pipeline to launch an entire AI-generated digital fashion collection as of yet, he is hopeful that by spending more time on refining his text prompts, the idea of an AI collection will soon become a reality.
“I've just started studying fashion terminology to be able to recreate the things that I want to see reflected more accurately,” Javo explains. “I have improved a lot by doing this and now I'm beginning to see a style which I identify with.”
Javo was recently named DRESSX ambassador, confirming him as a critical resource in the web3 and digital fashion space. The aim of the role is to continue to spread DRESSX’s influence throughout a variety of different channels and uplift the digital fashion design community to greater heights. Something I know Javo is already so skilled at.
Javo’s knowledge of AI is proving to be invaluable for this role too, with DRESSX creating an AI bot channel within their Discord server, allowing their community to experiment with the endless possibilites of Midjourney.
“There is currently a community-generated AI fashion campaign where the best ideas from the AI channel will be shared via DRESSX’s socials,” Javo says. “So, I encourage everyone to dive in and show us your creativity.”
Javo is very passionate about growing the digital fashion community in years to come and is rather humble about his new role and all that he has achieved thus far.
“The role does not make the person, the person makes the role,” he says. “So, ambassador - for now.”