You can now buy digital clothes to style your avatar on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, thanks to Meta’s new avatar fashion store.
With avatars being the future of digital interaction, Meta has provided a unique, albeit, expected means of further self-expression for your digital self via the launch of an avatar fashion store.
According to Meta, digital goods will be an important way for users to express themselves in the metaverse and subsequently be a massive driver of the creative economy. Looking forward, the company will eventually enable digital creators to launch their own avatar fashion items which they will be able to sell through the store; this will provide a new avenue of monetisation for individual artists as well as fashion brands.
The future of digital self-expression?
In virtual spaces, an avatar is a key mode of self-expression. With people spending more and more time interacting online, it could very well be that these social experiences become the template for future engagement. However, for this to be a reality, Meta needs to do the hard work now and it just so happens that avatars are a part of this ‘groundwork’.
Meta has been working to lay the foundation for this, and this is seen in their workings on new photo-realistic avatars. The company’s aim, according to Zuckerberg, is to have more true-to-life avatars for the professional side of things, and cartoonish avatars for day-to-day interactions.
Sure, some people may find it bonkers to spend actual money on clothing items for your avatar, but the world is moving in a very specific direction; a direction where your digital representation is just as important as your non-digital one. At the end of the day, personalisation is something the world could always use more of, and it’s great to see Meta aligning this with existing and emerging trends.
When will Meta’s avatar fashion store roll out?
Meta’s new avatar fashion store will begin rolling out this week, starting in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Thailand.
