In January, Meta introduced its 3D avatars – already operative in its virtual-reality (VR) iteration – into Facebook, Messenger, Instagram Stories and direct messages (DMs). This month it is inaugurating the Meta Avatars Store, where users can purchase virtual apparel for their avatars from, so far, three name brands – Balenciaga, Prada and Thom Browne – or select from Meta’s own free items. The roll-out will occur “in the coming weeks” on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. According to the British B2B website Just Style, the store will begin operations next week in the U.S., Canada, Thailand and Mexico. Meta expects to bring the store to VR soon.
One of the main executives in the store’s development is Eva Chen, formerly a journalist at Conde Nast titles such as Teen Vogue, Vogue China and Lucky, Elle and the Wall Street Journal, and now Instagram’s vice president of fashion partnerships. She and Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, discuss the store in an 11-minute video on Instagram.
There is a dual conceit behind the store and customizable avatars in general. “Your avatar,” Meta says in a press release, “is a digital expression of your personality (or personalities),” enabling you to “be your authentic self, and that in turn can help you connect more meaningfully with your friends, family, coworkers, or anyone else you meet on the road to the metaverse.” In addition, however, “commerce helps drive culture throughout the world, and the metaverse is no different.”
As we have just reported, McKinsey might believe that the metaverse is not intended to replace the real world, but at this stage, the main players in it appear to be building a virtual world that works much like the real one.
