In recent years, fashion icon Heidi Klum has become known for her fantastical and sometimes disturbing Halloween runway costumes -- most notably her body-horror-esque worm costume from 2022.
Now, the model and television host is entering the metaverse with a virtual runway experience in popular gaming platform Roblox.
In partnership with virtual world developer Supersocial, Klum has launched “Modelverse,” a game that aims to engage Roblox users via invites to virtual model events inspired by coveted real-world gatherings such as award shows, high-fashion events and Klum’s own Halloween party.
From there, users can style their Roblox avatar to compete for the best look on the virtual catwalk, judged by Klum and members of the global Roblox community.
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According to Supersocial, the experience was designed to promote “self-expression and creative fashion in the metaverse.”
As Roblox has gained popularity since its initial launch in 2006, the platform has grown its user base to almost 80 million daily active users across 190 countries, the majority of players being under 18 years old and highly interested in accessorizing their digital personas.
Roblox data shows that 56% of Gen Z users say creating a look for their avatar is more important to them than their own real-world style.
Klum’s Modelverse is attempting to build off this organic user behavior by allowing players to combine the world’s exclusive style inventory with Roblox’s regular marketplace catalog to generate more unique looks.
“When building this world, I wanted to make sure that the players get the chance to be unconfined -- they can play as their established Roblox avatar, or design a new avatar that looks like themselves…or step out of the box and walk the runway as a hot dog, a worm or something else they create!” said Klum in a recent statement.
Klum’s worm costume is available for players to try on in Modelverse.
Modelverse may also be one of the first celebrity-endorsed experiences laying the groundwork for future commerce opportunities in Roblox, which says that it wants to expand beyond virtual fashion and eventually bring virtual creations and wearables into the physical world.
This goal aligns with MediaPost’s recent conversation with Supersocial CEO Yonatan Raz-Fridman who expects to see more investment for brands' real-world commerce integration where players are able to purchase real goods within Roblox over the next decade.
The platform has already begun testing this functionality with e.l.f. Beauty, which launched a Walmart-powered virtual kiosk in Roblox where players can purchase a physical item.