Meta in partnership with Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne is launching a digital fashion store called the Avatar Store.
Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg while announcing the new move on Instagram in a live appearance said, “I’m really grateful and proud that these brands are joining us to kick off fashion in the metaverse.”
Zuckerberg who was not alone during the Instagram live appearance had Instagram’s director of fashion partnerships at Meta Eva Chen, with him.
According to The Block, the feature will debut on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger in the coming months. On Instagram, users already have the option of creating virtual avatars.
“Fashion is ultimately a form of art and self-expression. And now being able to wear Balenciaga, Prada, and Thom Browne, I can’t wait to see what comes from this,” said Chen.
The prices for items for sale in the store will cost $2.99 to $8.99 to start, according to a rep from Meta in an email to The Block. For now, Meta offers over 100 free outfits for avatars on the platform and outfits can be purchased using in-app purchases on mobile on iOS or Android, with any supported payment methods.
According to Zuckerberg, the aim over time is to make the marketplace accessible for creators to design new clothes.
Some of the biggest fashion brands like Swiss luxury watch maker Tag Heuer, Balenciaga, Hublot, Gucci, etc in recent times have caught the Web3 and crypto fever.
Gucci in March announced it will begin to accept cryptocurrency as payment for its luxury fashion products, while Balenciaga made similar announcement in May. Tag Heuer also launched the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 smartwatch which allows users to display NFT artworks on their watch.
