Traditional fashion brands are starting to collaborate with digital artists and designers to create limited-edition virtual collections, virtual experiences, brand tie-ins and special editions. The connection between gaming and fashion seems to have strengthened more and more over the past years. It appears that the aesthetic and lifestyle connected to video games offers designers and fashion brands unique new inspirations to take their brands to new experimental grounds. There are several possible reasons why video games seem to be especially interesting collaboration partners for fashion houses. Part of the appeal might be explained in my previous blogpost on video game skins (see here). The following blogpost will introduce some notable digital fashion collaboration and projects either situated in or influenced by the video game space.
Prada and Riders Republic, 2022:
In 2022, luxury brand Prada, more specifically, its sportswear line Prada Linea Rossa collaborated with the multiplayer racing game Riders Republic to produce a digital sportswear line and a matching set of snowboards, skis, and BMX bikes.
Balenciaga and Fortnite, 2021:
Popular streetwear brand Balenciaga launched physical and digital collections in partnership with the multiplayer, battle-royale game Fortnite. The brand also created an original video game called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow to promote their Fall 2021 runway show.
Gucci and Roblox, 2021:
In 2021, Gucci created a surreal garden inside the game Roblox for players to visit online.
Anna Sui, Isabel Marant, Marc Jacobs and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 2020:
The designers each built themed islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons as imaginative locales for fans to engage with their respective brand.
Moschino and The Sims, 2019:
In 2019, fashion brand Moschino partnered with the popular game The Sims to release both physical and digital lines, referencing the retro, pixelated graphics of 80s computer games. A so-called “stuff pack” was released for The Sims 4 in summer 2019.
Nike and League of Legends, 2019:
Sportswear brand Nike partnered with the popular eSports game League of Legends to create footwear and apparel collections inspired by the game’s aesthetics. They also released a line of footwear featuring the PlayStation logo and colorway. Notably, this project had a physical fashion output rather than a digital product, but it still demonstrate the general affinity between games and fashion that is on the rise today.
Louis Vuitton and Final Fantasy, 2016:
For their Spring/Summer 2016 collection, luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton recruited a virtual characters from the Final Fantasy series to model physical garments and accessories.
The brand also released a mobile game entitled “Louis: The Game” to mark the brand founder’s 200-year birthday in 2021.
As shown in these examples, fashion brands have been venturing into the virtual worlds of contemporary games for a while, either through collaborations, creating their virtual experiences, or establishing unique spaces within existing video games. Therefore, the gaming space has opened up new opportunities for creative projects, but also marketing opportunities, and fashion brands appear to be ready and willing to engage.
Main Reference:
Reay, E., Wanick, V. (2023). Skins in the Game: Fashion Branding and Commercial Video Games. In: Bazaki, E., Wanick, V. (eds) Reinventing Fashion Retailing. Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11185-3_5
