If one thing became really obvious this year, it was the ongoing convergence of the worlds of fashion and gaming. Many people continued to turn to the convenience of the digital world. Facebook announced that it would rename itself “Meta” and want to concentrate fully on the Metaverse. The avatar moved further into the focus of high-end fashion brands, which obviously see a growth market in the virtual world.
The brands are based on established game platforms such as Animal Crossing, Roblox and Fortnite, on which people navigate through virtual worlds with the help of individually designed avatars. This opens up a huge, largely untapped market that large fashion houses are increasingly tapping into by introducing virtual collections and branded content.
FashionUnited has rounded up some of the most notable Fashion + Gaming collaborations of 2021, where fashion transcended traditional boundaries and made its way into the virtual world.
March: Burberry and Honor of Kings
As a continuation of the previous partnership, Burberry released exclusive designs for the Honor of Kings mobile game. For the heroine of the game, Yao, two new skins – the names of the wearable identities an avatar can slip into – have been made available, the looks of which were inspired by outfits from the brand’s Spring / Summer 2021 collection. One of them even featured the classic Burberry trench, all in beige and with the house’s plaid lining. Fans were able to purchase the looks in-game, online and in stores across mainland China.
April: H&M and Animal Crossing
Following the announcement of actress Maisie Williams as global sustainability ambassador, H&M opened an island on Animal Crossing: New Horizons: an island dedicated to the Looop clothing recycling machine. The island was designed with sustainability in mind and allows people to explore new outfits in the game and convert them into new versions in a virtual clothes recycling station. There they were able to learn more about recycling and interact on Looop Island to share their own thoughts on circular fashion.
May: Gucci and Roblox
The luxury house Gucci made an unexpected appearance on Roblox, in the form of a virtual garden as part of the digital world of the game. This action was inspired by the creative vision of the house and designed as an exhibition with different rooms to explore. Upon entering, the players’ avatars were transformed into mannequins, which changed depending on the room they entered, thus creating a unique gaming experience.
In addition to this experience, players also had the opportunity to purchase virtual Gucci products in-game. The items that were included in the collaboration were very popular: a digital bag sold on the platform for $ 4,115, nearly $ 1,000 more than its original, physical value.
August: Ralph Lauren and Zepeto
This year, a number of fully digital Ralph Lauren collections were presented on the social networking website Zepeto, the range of which is based on the physical clothing of the brand. The players had the opportunity to dress their avatars with 50 different items, including skateboards and exclusive accessories that are only available in the virtual world. Digital elements of the Ralph Lauren brand were also developed, such as the Madison Avenue flagship store that people could visit and explore online.
To celebrate the launch of the experience, Ralph Lauren hosted a live virtual event along with the avatars of popular K-pop band Tomorrow X Together, allowing guests to interact with the group in the newly created world.
September: Balenciaga and Fortnite
The Balenciaga brand has adopted Fortnite and digitized its luxury fashion for the users of the popular game. The items included in the game were based on real collections, with players also having the option of visiting an in-game version of a Balenciaga store or dancing a dance specially created by the brand.
Outside of the game, however, the brand has been criticized for selling $ 700 worth of t-shirts aimed at Fortnite’s younger audiences.
October: Pandora and Animal Crossing
As part of the introduction of the Pandora Me collection, the jewelry brand created an individually designed Animal Crossing island. It was inspired by a campaign that featured numerous stars. In addition to immersive brand locations, the players were able to visit virtual houses that were shown by the brand’s prominent ambassadors, including Charli XCX and Beabadoobee, who were each represented in the game in the form of their own avatars. In addition, in a replica Pandora factory in Chiang Mai, the players were able to use workbenches and materials similar to those used in the manufacture of the Pandora Me collection.
November: Nikeland for Roblox
Nike used the Roblox platform to deliver a completely immersive brand experience, Nikeland. Buildings and locations in the virtual world were inspired by the brand’s real-world locations and included a digital showroom with Nike products that could be worn by the avatars of the gamers. Virtual space was carried over to the physical world through the introduction of an accelerometer that turned offline movements into online games and rewards, and aimed to encourage children to move more.
November: Fashion Awards and Roblox
Roblox remained popular all year round, even luring the British Fashion Council to its platform of over 43 million people. At this year’s Fashion Awards, the organization showcased its newest award category, Metaverse Design, in-game. The award was presented by an avatar representing Gucci’s Creative Director Alessandro Michele.
In addition to the virtual ceremony, participants were also able to enter a digital replica of the Royal Albert Hall, where they could browse an exhibition of virtual items of clothing to try on. They were also able to purchase a range of Gucci digital items, the proceeds of which will benefit the BFC Foundation.
November: Stefan Cooke and The Sims 4
The London designer Stefan Cooke brought his forward-looking message to The Sims 4 game and released a 23-piece set of men’s fashion for The Sims. Items include a uniform jacket, men’s skirt, and suits. The idea behind the creations is based on Cooke’s appreciation of individuality and widespread acceptance.
Special mentions
July: Off-White and Virgil Abloh with Katsu
In collaboration with the New York graffiti artist Katsu, Off-White released a mobile game with the late Creative Director Virgil Abloh. The game was released in advance of the duo’s joint collection as part of the Offkat project, which includes men’s and women’s collections inspired by the artist’s work.
In the game, either Abloh or Katsu had to be navigated through a virtual city while dodging the police while they tried to spray graffiti on buildings.
August: The Louis Vuitton 200th Anniversary game
On the occasion of its 200th anniversary, Louis Vuitton has launched a game that is directly inspired by the life of the founder of the house. The mascot of the house led the gambler through six imaginary worlds and traveled through a brand forest, a metropolis and an island in order to reach his festive birthday destination. The game character had to collect as many monogram candles and keys as possible to access new levels, with each candle unlocking a new anecdote about the luxury brand.
The game also featured 30 NFTs in an integration of blockchain technology, with ten of the tokens being created by digital artist Beeple.
October: Charli Cohen and Selfridges for the silver Pokémon anniversary
The virtual world created by Charli Cohen in collaboration with Selfridges may not be a game, but it offers guests an immersive experience that changes the way they shop. The Electric / City shopping platform was developed as part of the silver Pokémon anniversary and offered participants the opportunity to walk through a digital world to discover different elements of the joint campaign.
The virtual world was inspired by international cities and offers appearances and the opportunity to buy Cohen’s Pokémon collection in augmented reality vans. Clickable icons along the streets provided more information about the collection, which included both digital and physical garments for different wearing options.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ