Karlie Kloss Is Entering the Metaverse

This belief is not completely without warrant or evidence. Tech companies, stars, and brands have been going all-in on the metaverse lately. Musicians Lil Nas X and Charli XCX recently performed imaginative concerts on Roblox. And a slew of brands, including Gucci, Nike, and Vans have crafted (or, to be precise, coded) gear for the platform.

These partnerships and events advance tech, sure, but it also probably helps that they also court young audiences. According to Roblox, there are over 50 million active daily users on the platform, with a significant number belonging to Gen-Z or younger, so it makes sense that brands and celebrities are working hard to connect with the next generation of shoppers—even if the whole metaverse concept still has its skeptics and feels lodged in a beta stage.

But Fashion Klosette is more than a flashy partnership or play at trendiness, Kloss promises. She says she used and studied Roblox for over a year. “I’m someone who likes to do their homework,” she says. With the selected five designers, she leaned into the idea of collaboration. For example: she met with 23-year-old Samuel Jordan, one of the most successful Roblox creators, who is known in the game as “Builder Boy,” in Miami. The city is a 20-minute drive from Jordan’s hometown of Fort Lauderdale. The two spent an afternoon people-watching at a juice bar and workshopping ideas for Jordan’s visual love letter.

“We really took inspiration from streetwear, and Miami flex culture, and tropical vibes,” Jordan says of the two’s creative process. For Jordan, creating for the metaverse is nothing new. He has designed everything from Robolox’s first purses, earrings (creatively working around the fact Roblox characters lack ears), and gender-inclusive outfits since learning how to code for the game at 14. Since then, the metaverse has transformed his real life. Jordan says he made over a million (real) dollars last year from creating and selling items on the Roblox.