Karlie Kloss is the latest celebrity to jump into the Roblox metaverse.
The supermodel is launching the Fashion Klossette Designer Showcase with five pop-up stores to promote the virtual apparel of Roblox Corp. creators Builder Boy, Lovespun, Reverse_Polarity, RynityRift and Yourius. With 54.1 million daily active users, Roblox is a magnet for brands including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Gucci. Digital fashion is big business, with Roblox reporting more than 5.8 billion virtual items, both free and paid, being acquired on the platform last year.
“What excites me about these worlds is that you can you can make yourself any size, shape, colour and gender,” Kloss said in an interview. “I want to democratise access to the best of fashion without the limitations of one narrow idea of what is beautiful.”
Having worked as a Victoria’s Secret model during a time when fashion was anything but inclusive, she quit in 2015 to attend New York University. It was there she discovered her passion for computer programming and went on to found Kode With Klossy to teach girls and gender-nonconforming kids to code.
“I believe it’s crucial that we control our own destiny,” Kloss said. “You can create anything you can dream up knowing how to code — there’s such power in that.”
Kloss, an investor in start-ups including Reformation, StockX and Therabody, is married to Josh Kushner of Thrive Capital. But similar to Serena Williams and Paris Hilton, celebrities who also married venture capitalists, Kloss said she became interested in funding founders long before she met her husband.
“I love meeting and supporting entrepreneurs to make meaningful impact in the world,” Kloss said. “I typically get involved at an early stage when the company is at a formative point and try to add value beyond just capital, sometimes collaborating on product design or facilitating connections.”
After a brief stint as host of the Bravo TV series “Project Runway,” Kloss welcomed her first child and has since been busy lining up partners to expand Kode With Klossy.
A staunch advocate of women’s rights, Kloss took to Instagram to protest the recent US Supreme Court reversal of Roe v. Wade and told Bloomberg News, “I’m a strong believer that safe, legal health care is a human right, and I plan to continue to do anything I can to fight for that.”
By Martine Paris
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