Remember last year, when Final Fantasy (Square Enix) collaborated with Louis Vuitton? That was the beginning of a new era for fashion. Now designer brands openly target gamers and geek audiences, making the act of playing video games more and more mainstream.
But how did these completely opposite worlds collide to make a new one? Let‘s find out.
The origins
Until not so long ago, your cliché gamer was anything but fashionable. We‘ve all had a guy in our class in high school who only wore washed out hoodies and rock band t-shirts. The female version would be any manga-loving girl with cat-eared headbands.
On the other side, fashion has always been perceived as this very polished, put-together world where nothing is ordinary nor casual. You‘d never think of Haute Couture designers making streetwear garments a few years back. But since then, it‘s incredible how much things have changed. Think Balenciaga sneakers, Gucci hoodies or anything from Fear of God.
Now, functionality and comfort are criteria that consumers are taking into account – and brands are actually listening. All of a sudden, big names in the esport industry are interesting influencers for fashion companies, as those competitive celebrities usually have large – but above all, loyal – audiences. Live streaming on platforms like Twitch makes you think twice about what your appearance, which is perfect for marketing strategies.
LV x League of Legends
In September of last year, with LoL‘s 10th anniversary approaching, Louis Vuitton offered a collaboration to the game‘s editor – Riot Games. The idea was to provide participants to the 2019 world tournament with custom outfits – see how clever this is? It‘s literally an ad for the luxury brand on one side, a way for the game to gain visibility in the mainstream audience (because who hasn’t heard of LV in the 21st century?). Riot Games released a series of skins that can be purchased and used on League of Legend characters. A ready-to-wear collection came out, directed by Nicolas Ghesquiere – check out some of the designs:
Zara x Playstation
Another collaboration that stirred a lot of talk recently is the new collaboration between the major fast fashion brand and Sony‘s bestselling console. The choice of design and colors were however criticised on social media, people saying that the green reminds Microsoft‘s Xbox. I‘ll let you be the judge on that, but we can agree that the choice was not the most clever.
The Sims x Moschino
We already know Jeremy Scott is an alien in the fashion industry, so it was no surprise for him to be open to have his designs featured in such a mainstream game.
Just like the LV collaboration, there was a capsule collection released by Moschino, but it was also possible to buy a stuff pack with items from the designer, to add in the Sims game.
Can‘t afford a 600$ t-shirt from your favorite designer? You can still buy a skin and wear it in-game!
