Video games are incredibly awesome. What makes them even more fantastic nowadays is the transformation of gaming into a fashion statement, with more players of video games purchasing new clothing items and skins for their avatar.
The choice of avatar clothing and skins has been necessary among video gamers. One of the pioneering video games to use customizable avatars was Zwinky. It makes players buy avatar clothing. As gaming fashion becomes a trend among players, more people play or change clothing, such as Bitmoji.
Bitmoji for Snapchat makes users dress their avatar in different outfits, according to the type of occasions, like pregnancy, weddings, pregnancy, seasons, and many more. Big commercial brands like Levi’s, Ralph Lauren, Jordan, and Adidas have collaborated with avatar creators. Like in real life, donning cool and trendy clothing designs in a game like Zwinky or on an app like Bitmoji carries a meaning within that video game, virtually speaking. Players of video games also purchase coins for designer clothing products like Juicy, Rocawear, and many more.
“Fashion brands tapping into the gaming market have proven that people will spend money to change their character looks, especially when what they’re buying comes from a brand that they admire in real life. Fashion companies have shown that using video games to market themselves will bring in an audience virtually and physically,” according to an article by Makers Valley as highlighted by Fibre2Fashion. Meanwhile, you can visit the following link if you are looking for the best usa online casino.
“Brands definitely need to move into the digital space because if they want to talk to their future consumer. They definitely need to be talking to Gen Z because mainly they are so digitally savvy and their interests are more in the virtual space than the physical space. We have a lot of consumers coming up to us who’d rather spend money on assets in Fortnite than in a retail space,” added Kerry Murphy from Dutch startup The Fabricant.
The Fabricant, which prided itself as the first digital-only fashion house, maintained that fashion does not need to be physical to exist, wrote Björn Lüdtke of Spin Off.
As Generation Z is more adept in the advanced gaming industry, they are fearless in spending money on in-game purchases for the clothing needs they used for video game avatars.
Designer clothing brands see that game lovers, ages 13 to 45, are primarily males players. They have concluded that these players will most likely buy game avatar clothing and skins. In this manner, they also put up types of apparel into video games.
Fibre2Fashion reported that over 10 famous fashion brands work with video games for their clothing and skins. Also, if you are looking for top online casino in Canada, open the given link.
“Fashion brands pushing their way into video gaming are changing the game for the way that customers can interact with their favorite brands. For example, the game maker of Fortnite, as of Sept. 20, 2021, partnered with Balenciaga to allow their garments to be sold at the Fortnite Store,” it said.
To prevent the concept of product placement on the games, the companies designed skins and clothing that feel or look natural with the video games.
The collaboration allows the buying of virtual clothing from fashion or luxury brands at a lower price tag, turning the partnership into an excellent marketing opportunity for clothing designers.
In the case of Louis Vuitton, they collaborated with League Of Legends and made two skins for the video game.
Emily Levy, Senior Manager of Partnerships at Epic Games, stressed that “fashion is an important cultural element that needs to be part of Fortnite and the metaverse, just like music, sports or entertainment.”
“The entire player experience is centered on agency, fantasy, and self-expression while engaging with others,” Levy added.
Knut Bergel, who previously worked for the company that created the platform of Lara Croft, said that “every subculture, every sport, every music subculture developed their own fashion trends–this is missing yet in e-sports and gaming culture.”
If the fashion industry ignores this reality, they will surely miss a massive business opportunity. As younger players appreciate and understand more about e-sports, like the actual sport, fashion companies must shift their attention to them.
“E-sports is going to be the future sports of the younger demographic, if fashion wants to communicate and wants to monetize on this demographic, e-sports is probably the right vehicle to join,” said Bergel, who is now COO at H4X, an e-sports clothing brand for gamers.
Andrea Hopelain, vice president of international brand marketing at EA Sports, added that “brand growth today doesn’t come from just continuing to do the same thing, it comes from new ways of surrounding your consumer, enveloping them in your brand … it’s a new opportunity to reach players and fans on a different level.”
The company reported that Moschino x The Sims Pixel Capsule Collection has been downloaded 400 million times since its debut in 2000.
“Sometimes you need … to try to find a new formula to match the evolution of the reality,” said Gabriele Maggio, general manager of Moschino.
Trying to keep up of the customers’ demand is important, adding that to “put yourself in a discussion with a different industry which are closer to the contemporary behavior of the people in the world.”
One has to follow where the customer goes, from real life to the digital space.
“Fashion working with gaming is kind of the next obvious step in the evolution of fashion,” said Erin Wayne, head of community and creator marketing at Twitch.
“We firmly believe that games and interactive initiatives have a business relevance. They are key to offering an innovative and personalized shopping experience, which is what customers, millennials and gen-Z in particular are increasingly asking for,” added Paolo Mascio, president of Yoox.
Indeed, gamer fashion has opened new doors in gaming through successful partnerships and monetization of fashion brands in the ever-evolving traditional and e-commerce.
Interesting facts about gaming fashion
- As of 2019, 64 percent of women prefer to play mobile games, and 79 percent are more likely to make an in-app purchase.
- Luxury Fashion brand Balenciaga released its fall 2021 collection through an online video game titled Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow.
- Italian apparel brand Gucci released its own game in collaboration with Forestry Games called “Gucci Grip.”
- Gucci collaborated cult games like The Sims, Roblox, Tennis Clash, Genies, Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing to create items available for digital avatars.
- In 2019, MAC’s limited-edition lipstick sold out in less than 24 hours after it was commercialized for Tencent-owned game Honor of Kings.