Fashions Battleground: An insight into Fashion and Gaming
Fashion has been in the gaming industry for ages! Let’s dive into how it has evolved over the years within the gaming space, shall we?
Since the pandemic, the online and the offline spaces emerged in such a manner that the line that separated them is now quite blurry. And now from time to time, the line emerges and then disintegrates again. The pandemic has been a major shift for everyone and everyone just wants to fit in somehow, fit into the new normal.
Today, we’re looking into fashion’s entry into the gaming arena. Brands have discovered that the blurriness might always stay and it’s time for them to fit into this new normal as well and so they are constantly implementing new and innovative ways to stay alive within the industry. Come, let’s see how!
Then vs Now
Deep diving into nostalgia
Do you remember the online dress up games you’d play as a child? Or maybe you had a barbie or a GI Joe who’s clothes and accessories you could change? The day you knew you could change the appearance of your physical human-like toys, that’s the day fashion took its first step into the industry.
While it started from a physical space, that’s your figurines, it made its way into the online space through a variety of dress up games! As a child, those games were everything you ever wanted in your closet. Weren’t they now? The beautiful colors, the variety of clothing and the hope that one day this closet would be yours!
Travelling back to the present
Now that the digital space has become a vast marketplace for a variety of things, gaming is not far behind. Is it now? For example, the skins you customize your weapon with in a game or the outfits you give your character or a pet, be it The Sims, BGMI or any other game, fashion has entered this world. Interesting part here is that while fashion has been throughout your gaming life, it’s the kind of fashion that has changed. This depends on its target audience as well as the fashion that is trending within the present times.
Let’s ‘window shop’ a little..
Luxury fashion Enters Gaming
*Gucci Gang by Lil Pump plays in the background*
The entry of luxury fashion brands into the gaming industry is no coincidence, the gaming industry is rapidly rising. Gamers like to dress their characters with outfits that will resonate with them on a virtual level. The clothes, makeup, accessories and much more act as a storyline for the individual, assets that bring about a sense of ‘them’ in their characters. Looking good isn’t just a physical attribute now, it’s a virtual one too and it’s here to stay!
Here’s a look at a few brands that entered the gaming battleground in recent times:
Louis Vuitton
In 2019, Louis Vuitton partnered up with Riot Games’ League of Legends where luxurious character skins were designed by Nicolas Ghesquière! This special edition collection had about 40 products which ranged from hats, T-shirts, bags and much more and were priced on the higher end of the spectrum and were physically available too!
Gucci
In 2020, Gucci partnered up with Tennis Clash, a mobile game, for luxurious tennis outfits. The players could dress themselves up in Gucci attire and also participate in a Gucci tournament! Not just this, these virtual outfits could be physically bought too. The attire consisted of tracksuits, shoes, socks, headgear and much more!
BAPE
A Bathing Ape, also known as BAPE, collaborated with PUBG Mobile and launched an exclusive outfit pack. The pack consisted of a BAPE City Camo Hoodie, BAPE City Camo Pants, and BAPE StaMid shoes and was priced at 3,600 UCs. This isn’t their first collaboration as in their previous collection, one could purchase BAPE branded hoodie, pan along with many other items!
One of the best part about virtual fashion within this space is that it could be bought physically too 🥳 Fell in love with a limited edition character skin? You can easily make it yours!
While these are just a few of the brands that have collaborated with video games, many other brands like Balenciaga, Nike, Adidas, Vans, etc. too have entered the world of gaming!
Lets Play Dress Up!
We all know Fashion and/or dressing up games have been there since our childhood. While dressing up video games are easily available for children, let us introduce you to Fashion Dressing Up Games for adults!
Drest
Launched in 2019, Drest is an interactive fashion video game app that lets you play as a fashion stylist and challenges you to create your photoshoots too. This includes casting models and choosing their entire look and styling their outfits from famous brands like Gucci and Christian Louboutin. Not just this, you’ll witness many small brands too that get equal amounts of attention within the game!
Covet Fashion
Here you will be joining millions of other people who share your love for fashion from a variety of brands such as Calvin Klein, Rachel Zoe and 200 more brands! Everyday you receive a new challenge to complete, you can rate the styles of other players and win useful game rewards too. You can either play this game with your friends or millions of people online!
These are just a few of the many games that are available for you to play out there. Fashion is a diverse field that is sowing its seeds within the gaming industry. Through this, it proves that users wish to spend money, small or hefty, on their characters for them to look charismatic and from brands that they wish to buy from or admire in reality. Now, fashion students and people who have a career in fashion are entering the gaming world in order to contribute to this ever growing arena as well!
With many other pieces coming up, window shop a little by browsing through our profile? Till then, stay tuned!