House of Blueberry raises $6 million for digital fashion on metavese

Blueberry House has raised $6 million in seed funding for its digital fashion businesses across the metaverse and interactive entertainment.

The Makers Fund led the round, with continued participation from Everblue Management. House of Blueberry will use the money to expand partnerships with new games and online worlds to reach a wider audience.

Founded in 2012 by Mishi McDuff, House of Blueberry has sold over 20 million digital assets across platforms such as Roblox, The Sims and Second Life under its own brand. On a mission to unlock the next level of self-expression for players, creators and digital denizens, House of Blueberry says it has created a respected brand in an evolving space of enormous opportunity.

The company paved the way in the digital fashion world by partnering with brands such as Natori and Boy Meets Girl to debut their first virtual collections; Jonathan Simkhai will launch the first Metaverse Fashion Week; and Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen for creating a digital version of the iconic blue polo show.

Our ultimate vision is to become the world’s largest digital fashion house, said McDuff, in a statement. While it is still early days, we are proud of the foundation we have built and are thrilled to partner with the interactive entertainment experts at Makers Fund and have more firepower to continue building authentically for and with our community, to empower creativity, aesthetics and aspirational self-expression on any digital platform that matters.

This latest round of funding will accelerate the growth of new communities by expanding from the main base
women’s design aesthetic to male and androgynous design, as well as accessories, make-up, and
environmental assets. House of Blueberry will also expand to new games and online platforms where
user-generated content and issues of self-expression.

Over 62 million [items of] clothing and accessories are being created by players on Roblox alone in 2022, said Lia Zhang, investor in Makers Fund, in a statement. The numbers are increasing rapidly every year and starting to see more games and platforms understand the importance of user generated content.

Zhang added, We believe that because many top games and virtual worlds have become social networks, it is more important than ever to offer customization for our characters as they represent our digital identity. We share Blueberry’s vision that digital fashion and custom design are at the heart of online self-expression, and are excited to support Mishi and his team as they explore new aesthetics and expand to additional platforms and communities.

Part of the company’s approach is honoring the community that House of Blueberry enters with real-world brands.

We are a fashion company in the metaverse. We’ve been dressing avatars now for 10 years with our founders starting Second Life, said Katherine Manuel, chief operating officer, in a recent interview.

He added, “We believe that the community in games is actually the people who create the culture and fashion that it should be. So one of our core principles with House of Blueberry is really building a community that can help inform what people want to wear. How do they want to express themselves on this platform in their community in this game?

Manuel will be speaking on a panel about the brand and the metaverse at the upcoming GamesBeat Summit 2023 event in Santa Monica on May 22-23.