Metaverse mode and looser covid rules in China

Fashion designer Jenni Svoboda designs a beanie with a melted cupcake top, sprinkles and donuts for the ears. But this extravagant accessory is not intended for the physical world – Svoboda is designed for the metaverse. She works in a burgeoning, albeit bizarre, new niche: fashion designers who create or curate outfits for people in virtual spaces.

Metaverse stylists are increasingly in demand as frequent users seek help dressing up their avatars, often with experimental and wildly creative looks that defy personal expectations, societal norms, and sometimes even physics.

Stylists like Svoboda are among those shaping the metaverse fashion industry, which already generates hundreds of millions of dollars. But while, to the casual observer, it might seem bizarre and even obscene to spend so much money on virtual clothing, there are deeper, more personal reasons why people hire professionals to curate their virtual outfits. . Read the full story.

—Tanya Basu

Making sense of changes to China’s zero covid policy

On December 1, 2019, the first known covid-19 patient began showing symptoms in Wuhan. Three years later, China is the last country in the world to maintain strict pandemic control restrictions. However, after days of intense protests that shocked the world, it looks like things might finally be changing.

Beijing has just announced sweeping relaxations to its zero covid policy, including allowing people to self-quarantine at home rather than in special facilities for the first time.