adDRESS the Future (Neo-Ex)

Why it works

Neo-Ex was a 19-piece clothing collection that existed only as 3D files. Launched in November 2018 by the Norwegian denim retailer Carlings with the virtual influencer Perl.www, it let buyers pay €10 to €30, upload a photo of themselves and receive it back with the chosen garment fitted to their body by the brand's 3D designers, ready to post; the money went to WaterAid. Developed with the agency Virtue, it targeted a habit the fashion trade rarely names, buying clothes to be photographed in once and then returning them, and offered a version with no physical garment at all. It is studied as the first fully virtual collection launched by a fashion brand, and as the opening of a retailer's online store turned into an argument about waste. It won the Digital Craft Grand Prix at Cannes in 2019 and a Gold Pencil at the One Show. A 2025 academic case study credits its novelty but notes that the zero-impact claim was never independently verified.