L$460,000 Virtual Dress Makes Real Life History in Rare Finds RFL Charity Auction

Luxury, Second Life: Within the heart of a virtual metropolitan warehouse, a six hour charity fashion show and auction stocked with limited edition, rare-to-find, and also one-of-a-kind virtual fashions comes to fruition raising some significant dollars to benefit American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life (RFL) endeavor.
During this event, virtual history was made when a bidding war ended at L$460,000 for a virtual dress.
This is the final RFL event sponsored by the Designers in Seclusion (DiS) group in conjunction with Metro Models. The team raised nearly L$700,000 today, bringing the DiS RFL team to third place with a total of L$2,274,334 raised.
The auction began with a virtual fashion history course in 3d with apparel from the late Ginny Talamasca’s no-longer-on-the-market Last Call line. Models emerged magically from the depths of a wardrobe in the wall, stepping into the brick warehouse. They paused momentarily at midpoint, before advancing down to the pinnacle at the end of the warehouse’s clearing softened by Persian carpets. Several other no-longer-on-the-market items were shown including apparel from Catharsis, Dazzle, GHOST, and Sand Shack Surf Co. Three one of a kind and “very limited” items graced the runway, created by Eshi Otawara’s Chambre du Chocolat, Sioxie Legend’s SWA, and Ina Centaur’s IC-Skins _AR Another Realism.
The six hour event climaxed when Eshi Otawara’s Fish-hook dress caught fire in a bidding war between several RFL patrons and fashionistas, ultimately skyrocketing the bid to L$460,000 in mere minutes. This final amount made virtual history as the highest winning bid on a virtual dress. This single virtual dress sold for close to USD$2000, making also first life history as a formidable price even for a real dress. Eshi Otawara, the notable first life artist and the creator of this dress recovers from fainting to say to the mic, “This dress is my first one I ever made.
I am thrilled beyond words that something I have created had made such a great contribution to American Cancer Society and I am very greatful to Miss Kay Fairey and MIss Clarabelle Cazlet for their generosity.”

Alaska Metropolitan, founder of Metro Models, choreographed and designed the event.
After delivering a score of auction items to their owners, Alaska took a moment to breathe and say to the press, “I'm still kind of stunned at the total from today's event.
What the audience sees is a (hopefully) seamless fashion show with choreographed models... what happens backstage is a lot of work and chaos. Today made it all worth it. People's generosity and love of virtual fashion makes things like this possible. I'm insanely proud of the models, and Tigerlily Koi. And I'm so grateful to the Designers in Seclusion who contributed stuff for the auction. Thank you... let's keep working towards a way to beat cancer.”

After a period of speechlessness, Tigerlily Koi, the auction host and founder-captain of the DiS and DiS RFL groups, gives her testimonial, “I think it's amazing to see so many people come together, for such an important cause. As a first-time team captain, I'm SO proud of my team, and so grateful for their support of me and most especially of Relay for Life. I'm humbled to be a part of such an amazing effort.”

At the end of the auction, Team DiS, in conjunction with all of the Second Life supporters of RFL, broke the USD$160,000 mark, making this the most financially successful year for RFL yet.

About DiS: The Designers in Seclusion, aka DiS, is a content-creator’s group with over 150 designers. Although each designer is often too busy “secluded in Photoshop” or other creation, the group provides both support and remote socialization for these busy creators of Second Life. Earlier this summer, the group launched the historic RFL Prom event, debuting in “Memory Lane Memorial” high school, an extremely detailed nostalgic high school build, now used in several major machinima’s. Notably, the group has also been the epicenter of several content creator right’s movements, famous grid-wide scavenger hunts, and other coordinated fashion and virtual business events.
About Metro Models: Founded in Fall 2007 by Alaska Metropolitan, a first life graphic designer and fashion model, Metro Models is a fashion agency that aims to be different through innovation and interesting show themes, and a dedication to quality events, photography, and advertising services. Shows of note include the New Shoots series for new designers, and the Shine charity fundraiser of Winter 2007 for MSF/Doctors Without Borders. Metro Models also publishes a quarterly virtual fashion magazine called, appropriately, Metro Virtual Fashion.

More information and RFL related articles can be found in our RFL section plus the latest challenge from Fayandria Foley.