The adoption of digital fashion as an end product: A systematic literature review of research foci and future research agenda

Abstract

With the advancement of 3D design software, “digital fashion” has evolved from a retail and design tool for physical fashion to a virtual-only end-product sold to consumers in wholly digital form. As many brands are now developing digital fashion end products as a new revenue stream, given its potential to reduce some levels of overconsumption of physical clothing, it warrants academic attention. However, the literature has predominantly defined digital fashion as a tool rather than an end-product, resulting in an incomplete definition of digital fashion. This hinders scholars’ ability to fully comprehend and explore this emerging product category. This article aims to synthesize the current marketing/management literature on digital fashion and investigate the theories, context, characteristics, and methodology of digital fashion as an end-product. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive industry-accepted definition of digital fashion within a conceptual framework, categorizing six different types of digital fashion end-products, and establishing a future research agenda that will lead to new research streams.