Kevin D. Carignan 
Metaverses are among the crypto projects that have made headlines recently. It’s fair, when you consider that in the metaverse, the foundations are barely laid…while the events in Ukraine today have a staggering human impact. But here at The new digital worldwe always want to keep you informed of some of the milestones that ARE NOT We’re talking about.
Source: Iryna_Khomenko / Shutterstock
Fashion startup Metaverse secures $10 million in venture capital
Remember all those NFTs created for NBA fans since December? The creator of the NBA Champions Sneaker Collection on Solana (SOL-USD), Space Runners, is raising money for a much larger fashion line.
As CoinDesk reports, Space Runners plans include expanding to Ethereum (ETH-USD), the #1 NFT network a mile away. Space Runners differs from other NFT fashion lines by not using Ethereum metaverses The sandbox (SAND-USD) Where Decentralized (MANA-USD) as home base. The brand is building its own ‘SPACEverse’ – so this interoperability could be crucial in attracting buyers to all the NFTs it has planned.
“Rather than just a cyber urban style, we place more weight on beauty and aesthetics, and we collaborate with some of New York’s most popular fashion agencies,” said CEO Deniz Özgür. CoinDesk.
Space Runners has big names behind it. The creator of Sandbox, Animoca Brands, is represented, since its president Yat Siu participated in this last financing round. Just like Justin Kan, co-founder of the live streaming platform Twitch. Pantera Capital co-led the round, saying, “Fashion will be just as – if not more – important in the metaverse as it is in the real world.”
After all, your digital avatar is your new virtual identity that you can build from scratch – expressing yourself visually. To that end, you’ll have plenty of fancy gear to choose from later this month…
Decentraland Fashion Week coming March 24
Paris Fashion Week ends tomorrow – but, in a sense, the festivities continue until March 27… at Decentraland.
Dolce & Gabbana and Hugo Boss are among the top brands bringing their designs to Metaverse models for Decentraland Fashion Week. The list of luxury fashion lines planning to to sell NFT fashion during the event may be even longer: “Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Elie Saab, Etro, Dundas, Jacob & Co., Franck Muller, Garrett Leight, Cavalli, Faith Connexion and Faith Tribe, Nicholas Kirkwood and Chufy, among others,” reports The law of fashion.
Selfridges, the high-end British department store, is taking the opportunity to launch a metaverse boutique; you can even buy the NFTs from its physical stores, for use in Decentraland.
“Metaverse Fashion Week could very well serve as a way to test the waters for fashion houses, before investing in the emerging fashion district of Decentraland,” NFT party released in February. These big brands could then lease neighboring digital stores in the large Decentraland lot Token.com bought in November for the Fashion District, if all goes well at this month’s gala.
“The fashion world is a $2 trillion economy,” said Brian Trunzo of Polygon Studios Decrypt at the ETHDenver conference in February. And like the VCs involved in Space Runners, Trunzo agrees “that digital fashion will eclipse that one day.”
CVS Pharmacy is coming to a metaverse near you
The next entrant into the metaverse might be perhaps the most surprising yet: SVC Health (NYSE:SVC)!
CVS’s new patent filing suggests that it intends to create “downloadable virtual goods, namely a variety of consumer goods, prescription drugs, health, wellness, beauty and personal care and general merchandise for use online and in online virtual worlds”, and “online retail services” where you can buy these things.
If the Metaverse is going to be as realistic as its visionaries have made it out to be, I guess these consumer staples will be part of it.
But what is perhaps most interesting is THIS part of the patent filing: CVS also talks about launching consulting services “in the area of nutrition, health and wellness…non-emergency medical treatment services…personal assessments…and counseling services” – all accessible on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) platforms.
“It remains unclear whether CVS would deploy these offerings on an established metaverse platform or create a proprietary version,” notes Decrypt. But either way, it doesn’t look like another metaverse marketing stunt. It’s a lot like the telehealth solutions that took off during the COVID-19 lockdowns… Only the Metaverse is much more robust and immersive than a Enlarge video (NASDAQ:ZM) call, for deeper connections – like, obviously, with a medical professional!
The Sandbox Begins “Season Two”, Hits 2 millions Users
Even bigger than the ongoing land boom in Decentraland is the one happening in The Sandbox. And it may have the upper hand in terms of adoption. Thusday, VentureBeatDean Takahashi from reported that The Sandbox has registered two million users in total:
Look real. Metaverse Sandbox reaches 2 million users and kicks off alpha season 2 @GamesBeat https://t.co/WxjdYJxkI8 via @VentureBeat
— Dean Takahashi (@deantak) March 3, 2022
“A key factor behind The Sandbox already having a strong user base in its alpha may be its long list of partnerships with mainstream names such as Warner Music, The Walking DeadSnoop Dogg and Deadmau5, to name a few,” Cointelegraph reports.
Now The Sandbox is teaming up with major Korean record label Cube Entertainment to bring K-pop culture to the metaverse. “We are poised to play the leading role in bringing Korean culture to the world in the metaverse, the key to the fourth industrial revolution through this partnership with The Sandbox,” said Cube CEO Ahn. Woohyung, in the press release. So far, it looks like The Sandbox’s pop-cultural strategy is paying off in attracting users.
Equally important for attracting real businesses – with real benefit for users – is the international aspect displayed here, without borders or other physical barriers. Where else could you go for Snoop Dogg, K-pop, Dolce & Gabbana… and CVS Pharmacy – all in one trip? The metaverse.
Ashley Cassel
Contributing Editor, The new digital world
As of the date of publication, Ashley Cassell had (neither directly nor indirectly) any position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to InvestorPlace.com Publication guidelines. To get more news from The New Digital World delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe to the newsletter.
