We’ve all heard of NFTs and the like, but did you know, luxury fashion houses and major beauty brands are now making their way into the metaverse? Think virtual perfumes, cosmetics, outfits, avatars and more. The big names in the industries like Clinique, L’Oreal Paris, Fenty by Rihanna, Nivea, Chanel have already made big moves in the digital space, and the latest brand on the block is none other than the global haircare brand, Sunsilk. Wondering what these brands are doing the metaverse? Read on to find out.
What are beauty and fashion brands doing in the metaverse?
Fashion, beauty and videogames aren’t the most obvious combination one would pair together. But thanks to a variety of factors including the pandemic and the shaking off of stereotypes, brands are stepping into the virtual space to present and promote their offerings to a wider audience. Brands like Nike are even considering launching their collections and hosting fashion shows in their own version of the metaverse.
Similarly, over the last two years, due to the pandemic, beauty brands have had to step up their game in order to keep consumers loyal to their routines. This led to the rise of various apps offering virtual testing of products so that consumers can see what the shades of foundations, lipsticks and eyeliner look like on them before they checkout their carts.
Brands making moves in the metaverse
Sunsilk
The brand has launched Sunsilk City, an experience on the gaming platform Roblox, to get female gamers to participate. The aim is to create an accessible space for girls where their role model is a Mexico-based bio-pharmaceutical chemist and gamer Jessica Lakshmi. She features as an avatar and acts as the in-game host and hopes to inspire girls to enter the STEM world (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Along with real-life role models, the mini-games inspire players to prioritise education over domestic chores and fight off toxic phrases used to put women down.
Estée Lauder
The brand is the exclusive beauty partner at the Decentraland Metaverse Fashion Week, the first-ever large-scale virtual fashion week in an on-chain metaverse. It offered users a free original non-fungible token (NFT) wearable inspired by its cult-favourite Advanced Night Repair serum. To claim the same, avatars had to step inside the bottle of ANR and left with a glowing aura.
Burberry
The luxe fashion house has launched its first NFT in collaboration with Mythical Games in a multiplayer game called Blankos Block Party. If you’re a passionate virtual toy collector, check out this virtual world of vinyl toys. You can also buy and trade NFTs in the different gaming modes as well as complete tasks, embark on quests and solve various challenges.
Balenciaga
Every gaming lover, be it a novice or a pro player has dabbled in Fortnite and Balenciaga has played on this merit. The brand has made a digital avatar called Doggo who wears Balenciaga outfits in the Fortnite game. Along with this, it has proposed to sell four of its iconic items to double up as skin and accessories for avatars in the game.
Dermalogica
Meet Natalia, a brown-eyed brunette by skincare brand Dermalogica. She trains skincare professionals all over the world on how to use the brand’s Awaken peptile eye gel correctly and banish tired peepers. The cool part? She doesn’t resemble any race or age and is always ready to help novices understand skin conditions and their solutions. She is however, available on the internal Unilever platforms and comes to life in videos and virtual reality simulations.
Image credits: Instagram (Unilever, Estee Lauder, Burberry, Balenciaga, Dermalogica)