Heidi Klum.Photo:Max Montgomery
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Max Montgomery
Heidi Klumis using her platform to championbody positivity.
In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, thesupermodel, 51, opens up about the importance of showcasing all different types of bodies in all aspects of life, including online.
Highlighting her latest project,Modelverse— an online fashion experience she created and designed forRobloxthat allows users the opportunity to model at some of the world’s biggest events — Klum says it was of the utmost importance to her to make sure caricatures in fashion experiences on the virtual platform would match reality.
“I wanted people to either come with their own avatar or create a new avatar [and have it be] however they want, and not just that one typical kind of body shape, which I think is so out of date,” she explains.
“We’re in 2024. I think diversity is bigger than ever these days, so why is this not reflected in any of the games,” Klum adds. “I feel like there needs to be a variety in avatars, so I wanted to make a world where there’s diversity in body shapes.”
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Modelverse.Modelverse/Roblox
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Modelverse/Roblox
According to Klum, the idea to create Modelverse was first sparked after years of watching her daughterLouspend time on Roblox.
After asking her 14-year-old, “What is missing in this game?” theAmerica’s Got Talentjudge determined that only a certain body type was being featured on many online platforms, and she felt she needed to be proactive in initiating a change.
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Heidi Klum in September 2023.John Salangsang/Variety via Getty
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John Salangsang/Variety via Getty
“For most younger kids, I don’t think the diversity idea, or the importance of it, has even sunken into [their heads]. They don’t even realize,” Klum says. “… The world is not looking like this, and most of us are not looking like this.”
Plus, the mother of four adds that her ideas didn’t just stop there, and she wanted to go a step further in allowing users the ability to let their creativity soar. “Why do we have to just look human? Why not be a hot dog walking down the catwalk or … a walking tree or anything like that?” she says.
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In Modelverse, which was crafted with an assist fromSupersocial, users get to utilize themed catwalks that match whatever holiday or big event is taking place that month.
“We dive into all these different worlds and their festivities, and for each I created different looks,” adds the fashion designer.
For October, users can virtually attendKlum’s iconic annual Halloween party, or take part in Oktoberfest from afar. “I have this amazing Oktoberfest catwalk … there’s sausages hanging everywhere,” Klum says. “… You really think you are in Bavaria.”
Modelverse is available to play now.
source: people.com