Today, the metaverse is everywhere; it has become a major buzzword. The term was first coined in an American writer’s 1992 science fiction novel, Snow Crash, as a portmanteau of meta (Greek prefix meaning beyond) and universe. Nearly three decades later today, it is no longer the setting of a science fiction epic. Rather, it is becoming as real as the physical world. In the current time, the metaverse is used as a concept to describe a seamless convergence of the physical and digital worlds, or a virtual community where people can work, play-to-earn, transact and socialize (J.P. Morgan, 2022).

The social media influencer (SMI) phenomenon is attracting attention from academia and business. A SMI refers to an individual who has accumulated a sizable social network of followers and thereby has influence over others (Ki et al., 2020). Due to the influence SMIs possess, an increasing number of brands are approaching SMIs and asking them to create and share branded content that includes product placements or brand recommendations. This practice is commonly referred to as influencer marketing. Reflecting the trend of influencer marketing, this study investigated: (1) whether consumers are ‘inspired-by’ SMIs and ‘inspired-to’ adopt the exemplars of SMIs (e.g., SMIs’ lifestyles, styles, and recommendations) as their social defaults that provide desirable standards that consumers will like and follow, and if so, (2) what are its causal factors and effects, and (3) whether the inspiration mechanism between SMIs and consumers differs between male and female consumers. In so doing, we drew on social defaults theory (Huh et al., 2014) and customer inspiration theory (Böttger et al., 2017).

Despite the growing trend of incorporating ethnic motifs, colors, and styles (i.e., ethnic-inspired designs (EIDs)) into mainstream fashion products in the US, there is yet a lack of understanding on what drives consumers to demand such products with EIDs. Although extant literature provides important insights as to what motivates consumers to favor EIDs, much of the studies have focused on the products’ appeals to particular ethnic groups with matching their cultural backgrounds. Less is understood on the core self-centric values mainstream consumers reflect into EIDs and the personal goal-pursuit they project by wearing them. We address this issue. Building upon Image Theory (Beach & Mitchell, 1987), our findings document that consumers’ purchase intent toward products with EIDs is more fundamentally driven by their aspirations to boost their self-view confidence by wearing EIDs (i.e., self-enhancement), which are guided by their core self-values that are represented by two personal values (i.e., cultural openness and seeking personal style) and two product values (i.e., perceived esthetics and perceived novelty).