Snapchat’s adding some more customization options for its Bitmoji characters, with users now able to dress their characters up with bags from Prada and Miu Miu via Snap’s first branded handbag partnership.

Snap has added a range of designer bags to its digital accessories, providing new ways to customize your digital character.

As per Snap:

Starting from 11/19, Snapchatters can unlock a selection of Prada and Miu Miu looks to personalize their Bitmoji in a style that fits them, from Prada's iconic Small Galleria Bag in Saffiano Leather to Miu Miu's Wander Bag, among the gen z favorites.

The new accessories will add to Snap's existing range of Bitmoji fashion partnerships, with users already able to access Bitmoji clothing that reflects the latest releases from Adidas, Converse, Nike, Jordan, Crocs, Levi's, and many more. Snap also added Bitmoji "Beauty Drops" last year, which replicate real-world make-up product launches that you can add to your virtual persona.

Some of these add-ons are free and may be in place to help to drive recognition of the "real world" versions of each, while others have to be purchased to demonstrate your Snap elitism.
The brands then take a cut of those sales, and though this isn't yet a major revenue stream for Snap or the individual businesses, it does provide another avenue to help expand Bitmoji use, and get more people more aligned to their virtual characters.

And that could end up being crucially important.

The future vision of social media interaction is that more and more of it will eventually be conducted via avatars, with people engaging in VR and AR worlds through their digital depictions. That's the core focus of Meta's metaverse, which considers the popularity of online gaming worlds at present-for example, Roblox and Fortnite-and extrapolates that to future scenarios when such audiences grow up.

Essentially, young audiences are already so well accustomed to interacting in this way, and Meta is hoping to convert that into an expanded pathway into its next-level experiences, while also building on the utility of virtual character interaction.

And with Bitmoji, Snap could also play a part in this.

As Snap is dealing with growing competition in AR and limitations to its app growth since it apparently does not hold appeal as its users age-out, it's not clear what the future holds for the company.
As such, Snap likely needs to hedge its bets, focusing on both app development and expanded opportunities, like AR creation, integrated into other platforms in case the own AR Spectacles project does not pick up as well and Bitmoji avatars that could also be applied to metaverse-like experiences.

It all depends on how open other platforms make their operating systems, but many users would likely love to export their Bitmoji doppelgangers into future metaverse applications.

As such, brand partnerships like this may be more important than they seem at this stage.