When Facebook unveiled its new name for the parent company—Meta—and presented its vision of the metaverse, the fashion and modeling worlds took notice. The timing felt significant, as Facebook has faced criticism for leaks, secrecy, and social responsibility concerns. Yet now, under the Meta banner, Mark Zuckerberg is opening a door to a digital future where personal style and fashion experiences intersect with technology.
Imagine attending a fashion show where models from across the globe appear as avatars, or curating your own digital wardrobe filled with designs that may never exist in physical reality. Brands like Balenciaga, Supreme, and Norwegian Carlings are already experimenting with digital fashion, creating virtual collections and skins in video games, signaling that modeling and model agencies are entering a new frontier.
Digital fashion doesn’t just appeal to gamers or tech enthusiasts. It is increasingly influencing modeling portfolios and how models present themselves. The metaverse could allow models to showcase a digital presence in addition to traditional work, with avatars wearing digital collections designed by top fashion houses or independent creators. Model agencies may soon manage not just physical photoshoots but digital fashion campaigns and virtual runway events, creating new opportunities for models everywhere.
According to media and fashion researcher Synne Skjulstad, platforms like Instagram have already transformed how models and modeling work is consumed, making digital expression central to the fashion experience. In the metaverse, this effect could amplify: a model’s avatar may become as important as their real-world portfolio, influencing how agencies scout talent and how modeling is experienced globally.
Zuckerberg envisions avatars as personal, expressive extensions of ourselves, with digital clothing reflecting style choices as deliberately as real-world outfits. Fashion researchers suggest this could fundamentally change the industry, from how models are discovered to how collections are showcased. The next generation of consumers will interact with fashion through multiple surfaces—avatars, digital closets, virtual runways—blurring the line between modeling and interactive, digital experience.
While the metaverse remains a developing reality, its intersection with fashion, models, and model agencies signals a broader cultural shift. Technology is redefining not just how we dress, but how modeling itself is imagined. From digital clothing drops to fully immersive virtual runways, models, agencies, and creators are exploring new frontiers in an era where the digital wardrobe may be just as vital as the physical one.
