Valentino to dress Meta’s avatar in digital style

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Maison Valentino is the latest luxury brand to create a digital fashion look for Metas avatars. Starting today, people can dress up their avatar, which is available on the Meta platform including virtual reality experiences Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and Meta, with six fully branded looks inspired by Valentino’s latest collection. Designer pieces typically range in price from $2.99 ​​to $8.99, and Meta splits revenue with the brand, though it hasn’t disclosed what percentage is shared or the exact price of Valentinos pieces.

In his release, Valentino says he is taking a step forward towards commerce in the metaverse by exploring the possibilities of digital clothing: Fostering individuality and building community is a constant conversation and exploration. Over the years, the digital community has strengthened this pursuit, building a stronger and more open ethos for all.

The avatar fashion marketplace was announced in June 2022, with premieres from brands including Thom Browne, Prada and Balenciaga offered for purchase alongside free avatar outfits created by Meta. At the time, Balenciaga CEO Cdric Charbit said we liked him right away. Web3 and Meta present unprecedented opportunities for Balenciaga, our audience and our products, opening up new territories for luxury. The following July, DressX joined the Meta Avatars Store, offering digital-only fashion looks designed in-house and from its network of partner designers.

Meta’s own commitment to Web3 mode, which adds a blockchain layer to digital goods, has wavered. Notably, Instagram quickly unveiled, and then dropped, its plans to include NFTs, which are called digital collections. For a short time, people could connect their crypto wallets to share NFT art on Instagram; many in the industry think this paved the way for the kind of digital fashion NFTs used on virtual real estate platforms Decentraland and The Sandbox, where Gucci and Adidas develop real estate. However, following Metas’ flipping of this pilot in March of this year, it appears that approach has been abandoned, for now. However, with the digital mode for avatars, it’s expected that the next generation of users will pay to upgrade their digital appearance.

Available Valentino looks include the now familiar hot pink color, Toile Iconographe logo, panther print, Valentino Garavani Rockstud ballerina shoes and other essential items. A second decline is planned for later this year.