Brand Engagement in the Metaverse: January 2023 Round-Up

H&M Expands Web3 Circularity

Extending its Looop circularity initiative – first seen in stores in 2020, and as Looop Island in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing – H&M has partnered with British metaverse gaming studio Dubit to launch Loooptopia on Roblox.

The experience lets players travel across multiple realms (Rainbooow Fields, Neon Studiooo, Fabric Fooorest and Utopia City) to partake in mini-games, such as riding on scooters and zip lines to find various materials or elements (like designs, colours and textures).

Players then combine these in the Looop machine to develop clothes – with thousands of different outfits possible – establishing a sense of unbound creative possibilities through reuse. They can also return to their collected items at a later date. Gamers can show off their creations on the Looptopia runway or trade them with friends. Incentivising users to practise sustainability in the digital world, ‘recycling’ their garments sees them rewarded with points to spend in-game.  

Also on Roblox, Gucci has added England footballer and brand ambassador Jack Grealish to Gucci Town. People can play football with Grealish’s avatar and purchase his signature haircut for their virtual iterations.

Warner Music’s x DressX’s ‘Verch’

Capitalising on the hosting of concerts in digital worlds like Roblox and Fortnite, Warner Music Group has partnered with US fashion marketplace DressX to produce virtual merch – or ‘verch’ – for its artists.

The clothing line will include concert T-shirts and sweatshirts, available as wearable 3D renderings in-game or as augmented reality (AR) filters, shareable over Instagram and Snapchat. Purchase details are yet to be announced, but the ‘verch’ will likely be available on DressX's website and AR app, as well as Warner Music Group’s metaverse-hosted gigs. While collaborating artists have also not yet been announced, the label’s stars include Abba (whose virtual tour Abba Voyage is currently running in London).

Birger Christensen x Ifland Studio Pair Physical & Digital Collections

Danish fashion lines Rotate and Remain (both owned by parent company Birger Christensen) have partnered with South Korea's second-largest proto-metaverse platform, the avatar-centric Ifland Studio, to create a dress-up experience where users can match their digital and real-life wardrobes.

Building on Ifland's extensive closet of avatar accessories (over 800 different costumes and hairstyles), the collaboration offers an additional 20 clothing articles, with users able to purchase physical versions of the Ifland outfits from dedicated pages on the brands’ websites.