There may still be a lingering bad taste when the public talks about Meta's pursuit of becoming a metaverse pioneer. Just last Aug. 21, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to explain himself after the virtual reality company revealed the current state of its metaverse game avatar in a European launch.
The poorly designed avatar that the CEO unveiled, according to a mob of critics online, was soulless and not very impressive. The tech kingpin replaced the said avatar post a few hours after a surge of online mocking was directed at the budding project.
Meta Powers First VR Digital Drag Competition, Fashion Show
The metaverse company reclaims the reputation of its design technology in this latest collaboration with several drag personalities. With the help of the latest virtual and augmented technologies, Meta backed one of their most elegant mixed-reality events to date in the metaverse.
According to Meta, their virtual technology enabled three digital fashion designers to access its virtual design technology, avatars, and the limitless metaverse closet they call Horizon Workrooms to create the most stunning outfits. These digitally-designed outfits were then sewn to turn into physical garments that the drag models could wear in the fashion show.
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Queens of the Metaverse, Meta's first-ever mixed reality drag runway show, provides an insight into how the LGBTQ+ creative community is using the latest virtual technologies to spur a "new wave" of creation in drag fashion.
According to the DailyMail, the tech company has enjoined three big names in the drag world. The first is Blu Hydrangea, the recent winner of the hit drag show "RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. The World," followed by Tia Kofi, a pop artist and "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 2 star, and Adam All, one of the world's most well-known 'Drag Kings.'
Making the Metaverse Runway
The mentioned drag stars were joined by a trio of LGBTQ+ designers who were also fresh to this 'first-of-its-kind design process.' Meta's digital fashion designers include Nwora Emenike, Sal Mohammed, and Christie Lau. The roster of designers is seen as the pioneers and experts of the budding digital fashion industry.
As per Mashable, the fashion show was held at 180 The Strand, an exhibition and performance space also known for its events housing the likes of HypeBeast and new media art shows. Meta's Queens of the Metaverse combined physical and virtual fashion in a drag show, resulting in an immersive display of both physical and virtual design.
The fact that the drag community is very active and popular on Meta's platforms was not left unmentioned. According to Meta's data, #DragQueen is among the top 1% of Instagram hashtags that users in the UK follow.
The metaverse company claims that Queens of the Metaverse is designed to support queer communities' self-expression, social interaction, and online and offline visibility.
This is not the first time drag queens have used technology to celebrate their art. Drag artists continue to bring the brilliance of their performances to home audiences through online streams in the face of a global pandemic that shut down film and TV production around the world in 2020.
