Yahoo Movies Blueberry Launches Direct-to-Avatar 3D Shopping Experience on Roblox
Today, fashion apparel and accessories aren’t just about shopping for yourself, your kids and your dog — digital avatars need to be dressed, too, and online users are looking for “faster than fast fashion.”
Consumers are increasingly socializing and experimenting in digital worlds, and many, including Blueberry Entertainment, believe digital fashion will be the driving force behind user identity. To date, Blueberry, which was founded by Gizem Mishi McDuff in 2012 as a solo creator on Second Life, has sold more than 20 million units of virtual clothing and has worked with brands including Jonathan Simkhai to launch the first Metaverse Fashion Week.
More from WWD
Now bringing online citizens even more ways to dress up through avatars, Blueberry is partnering with Roblox, a leading metaverse platform that reported more than 43 million daily active users in 2021, for an immersive shopping experience. Within Roblox, the boutique will be designed as a two-story space inspired by a teen girl’s bedroom, which the company said means the design will include “pink, unforgiving and with attitude.” Avatars will browse the story and try on designs, creating personal, digital identities.
Importantly, Mishi McDuff, founder and chief executive officer, told WWD that the Blueberry shopper on Roblox “loves to make lasting impressions through digital fashion.”
“The Blueberry x Roblox consumer is fun-loving, creative and community-minded,” said McDuff. “They are passionate about self-expression and building meaningful connections with others online [and] highly social in their virtual communities. [They] curate head-to-toe looks to ‘wow’ others while expressing their unique personal style.”
Courtesy Image.
On Roblox, the Blueberry boutique will launch with two fashion collections, each designed to include trendy pieces that are easy to style, and will expand the offerings into hairstyles, becoming a unique one-stop shop to build a full look.
The first collection, the ‘90s Summer collection, will showcase clean lines and silhouettes with miniskirts, cropped tops and party girl metallics that can be paired with accessories including cat backpacks. The second collection, Modern Fantasy, will include baby-doll dresses, bold heart-shaped sunglasses and iridescent colors to characterize a fun, youthful and feminine style.
Both collection inspirations were carefully chosen through data and consumer trends.
“When you’re a designer, you become inherently observant,” said McDuff. “We could tell there was something powerful happening with nostalgia in fashion and that gut feeling was born out by the research. There’s a ton of data out there showing that young people are increasingly motivated by nostalgic fashion choices. This helped inspire our ’90s-themed collection, which features clothing and hairstyles from everyone’s favorite decade.”
While Roblox is new territory for Blueberry, McDuff told WWD the partnership uses the same principles of virtual self-expression that have always been in the company’s DNA.
Courtesy Image.
“This collaboration allows us to show the range in our design abilities while maintaining all that is core to The House of Blueberry: authenticity, co-creation and inclusion,” said McDuff. “This has made it feel like a very natural and effortless collaboration for us. we’ve built a tried-and-tested model for selling metaverse fashion, and we’re excited to bring that expertise into a new environment. As the House of Blueberry expands and scales, we are looking for the next platform, the next great creator, and the next idea to push the industry forward.”
FOR MORE WWD BUSINESS NEWS:
Wondermind Raises ‘Series A’ Funding
How NFTs Are Democratizing the Fashion Industry
Why the Pet Category Is Leading in Customer Loyalty
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
