Fashion has been at the forefront of technology and innovation for as long as I can remember. Although fashion technology has constantly been growing, the pandemic added the needed push to get innovative. From the now standard VR dressing rooms, virtual stylists, online retailing, and fashion weeks, fashion has been tapping into the gaming industry to reach a younger audience and generate brand awareness. Gaming has become a popular pastime, especially during the pandemic, and is an industry making $175 billion in 2020 (K, 2021).
Fashion brands launched new games to promote their products or showcased, released their latest collections on already established gaming platforms. Thus, beginning the era of fashion gamification. Brands can reach any demographic through this medium. Gamers dress their avatars in different looks and can buy more avatar garments virtually from brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and Moschino, which sell at the same price as the tangible product. Luxury brands require high-quality creativity to maintain their brand image; therefore, games with high-quality graphics are a necessary factor that they are looking for.
Brands incorporated gaming in the following ways -
1) Balenciaga released its fall 2021 collection in the form of an online game, 'Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow', set in the near future of 2031. They invited players to experience the game with the fall collection donned by 50 character models (K, 2021).
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2) MAC dropped their limited edition lipstick on the game' Honor of kings', which sold-out in 24 hours.
3) Louis Vuitton collaborated with Riot Games for the League of Legends World Championship by designing custom character skins that could be downloaded and used for changing the avatar's look.
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4) For the popular game Animal Crossing's fifth title Marc Jacobs and Valentino collaborated to create downloadable looks for the avatars.
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5) Gucci collaborated with Roblox, an online gaming platform where consumers could have their avatars try on various Gucci items and make purchases. The virtual Gucci Dionysus bag sold for a whopping $4,115, overcoming the price of the original tangible bag (K, 2021).
Despite luxury brands, brands like Ralph Lauren, Jordan, Levi's, Off-white, American Eagle, and Nike showcase their products virtually on Bitmoji. Bitmoji is a personal emoji app created by Snapchat where people can design animated versions of themselves and dress them in different outfits.
With positive growth, more brands are attracted to gaming and are putting their faith in this sector.
References -
K, S. (2021, June 30). How luxury fashion brands are dabbling in the virtual gaming space. grazia.co.in. https://www.grazia.co.in/fashion/how-luxury-fashion-brands-are-dabbling-in-the-virtual-gaming-space-7572-1.html
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