Shoe brand Buffalo London has teamed up with digital fashion house The Fabricant to create a flaming virtual trainer that can only be "worn" in images for social media.
The design, dubbed the Classic BurningFor, is based on a 3D scan of the brand's Classic Low platform shoes, first popularised by the Spice Girls in the 90s.
Now in 2021, it's been updated for the age of the internet using CGI animation software to create a digital version lapped in blue or red flames.
Beyond being Buffalo London's debut digital-only product, the company claims this also marks the first time that an established brand has made a virtual wearable available for purchase on its website alongside its regular, physical products.
Only 100 pairs of the virtual trainers will be sold, at around €25 for a still image and double that for a moving video, in which the flames flicker and dance around the wearer's ankles.
Using fire as if it were a fabric shows off the nearly limitless possibilities of digital fashion as well as hoping to speak to the wider cultural zeitgeist.
