Technological changes are skyrocketing at an exponential rate in the last few decades. With the advent of the internet and smart phones, several new innovations have been already witnessed. The physical boundaries of the globe have diminished, and everyday affairs are becoming effortless and meteoric. From education to business, politics to war, and shopping to events, everything can now be controlled by the fingertips of people. The next decade is most likely to give a very different realm of life.

Yes! A parallel universe is being set up. Metaverse, the digital reality with its own currencies and economies. This would happen with the combinations of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), eXtended Reality (XR) and Mixed reality (MR). The futuristic World Wide Web (Web 3.0) is based on blockchain technology which deliberately supports Metaverse. Web 3.0 is the latest internet technology that leverages machine learning, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and blockchain management to achieve real-world human communication and interaction in real time.

The buzz created when tech giant Facebook changed its parent company’s name to Meta in October 2021 was followed by the first ever virtual live musical event by the famous American singer performer Justin Bieber in a virtual platform wave. Irrespective of the business domain, enterprises are already thinking, planning and executing the concepts of the virtual reality world.

Software development and gaming companies like The Sandbox, Decentraland, Axie Infinity, Illuvium, Theta Network, etc have already started selling their virtual space in the market. The popular luxury brand Gucci has made a land purchase in the virtual world for prospective business growth. The Italian fashion brand United Colors of Benetton has presented its metaverse store at the Milan Fashion Week 2022. A huge piece of virtual land acquired by Adidas Originals is visible in the Sandbox arena. McDonald’s, one of the biggest food chains of the globe, is planning to buy virtual space to remain in the top leagues in its category. And many more companies are working on this line.

As the world stayed home during the pandemic, a huge potential market was created to flaunt one’s personality, expression and freedom of clothing and dressing up. Obviously, the answer is fashion metaverse. The fashion world is anticipating a huge business opportunity in this much talked fictional word. Grown out of gaming, the vast world of fashion has started working on the principles of block chain and crypto currencies and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are already in vogue. While the social media redefined fashion demand and supply, metaverse is all set to take it to a new level. Brands would be virtually present and rent/sell out their apparel and accessories to be used by people using the various virtual platforms. Customisation and sustainable manufacturing and marketing would be quite cost friendly. Customers would get the products they wish for and would be able to order exactly in the concept phase. From intangible concept to design to actual product, everything could be felt at the very initial phase. Celebrities using virtual fashion brands would encourage brand positioning resulting in growth in sales and profits. It is too early to predict anything substantial about it in the context of fashion or in whole but the whole world is watching and predicting a bright future in it. Of course, it is only time that will tell whether it is going to be a reality or it’s just a big bubble waiting to explode.

The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk is not quite sure about the idea of metaverse. He has a substitute product Neuralink, which would implant its brain chips in humans and study the neurological waves. The experiments would start with animals to injured people and finally to normal people. Rather it would also work the same way, as virtual reality in future.

The impact of metaverse would be only known after the widespread use but following the trends in technological changes and advancements in the past, it could be the next massive change. Tremendous new opportunities in all sectors and businesses are likely to come up. However, the flip side of it is pushing the data usage by multiple times, consuming high energy, resulting in cyber wastage, and creating extreme vulnerability in the identity of people for business and marketing purpose. Besides, one of the biggest fears in metaverse is actually getting away from the real world. Everyone can be too engrossed into it to accept the real realities of life. It may take a toll on mental and physical health but probably humans will adapt and try to balance both the worlds simultaneously. Responsible and sustainable usage could be the biggest challenge and perhaps the famous quote of Albert Einstein would hold true: “I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.”