Summary
Decades ago, it would have been considered quite unlikely that fashion and gaming would be interlinked in any sort of way. They were niches that were worlds apart, coming from distinct realms that seemed almost contradictory.
While gaming was seen as a niche hobby dominated by a younger male audience, fashion was all about personal expression and primarily attracted females. On the far end of the spectrum, true high fashion is so expensive that you’d have to hope for a lucky win from the top online casinos in the US to splurge on these latest trends. Meanwhile, gaming was nowhere near as high-brow and certainly wasn’t seen as the artistic medium it is today.
Fortunately, these two industries have begun to merge over the past few years. It’s a phenomenon that’s shaping the ideas of real-world designers and inspiring both streetwear and high fashion collections. Beyond the aesthetics, both sides have come together to enhance personal identity.
The Emergence of Fashion in Gaming
We first saw humans portrayed in video games as pre-made sprites or iconic characters that you couldn’t customize. What you saw was what you got—they weren’t meant to represent the player but rather serve the function of a main character. It wasn’t until the 1990s that we saw the rise of modifications, which let you change the armor and outfits of playable characters. In Tomb Raider, Lara Croft could sport her classic retro outfit, while the Final Fantasy series finally offered detailed player-driven customization in Final Fantasy X.
In many cases, technology wasn’t advanced enough to support the character customization experience we know today. There were limited graphical capabilities, memory constraints, and a lack of rendering technology. Considering this, along with the fact that game developers were more concerned with gameplay mechanics, character customization just wasn’t a priority.
The early 2000s gave way to character customization. Video game enthusiasts wanted a more immersive experience where they could create and modify their characters to resemble themselves. They wanted these avatars to reflect their identity, especially in the simulation, RPG, or MMORPG genres. The first installment of The Sims lets players customize everything from their hair and their clothes to their base appearance, while Mass Effect provided detailed customization options for the protagonist. Look at modern-day titles like FC 24 and Cyberpunk 2077, and there are incredibly granular customization opportunities that let you adjust clothing down to the fabric and facial features down to the jawline.
Video Game Aesthetics Inspiring Fashion Trends
Video games have inspired fashion in both overt and subtle ways. The more video games have become a staple hobby and a part of people’s identities, the more certain in-game characters have appeared on streetwear items like hoodies and graphic tees. You might’ve spotted a Super Mario cap or a Street Fighter hoodie. Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows players to design their own outfits from scratch, pixel by pixel, popularizing the “cottagecore” style in everyday life. Some designers and brands may even launch exclusive yet temporary collections surrounding a certain video game, such as Uniqlo’s Legend of Zelda collection.
More recently, we’ve seen exceptionally popular games like Fortnite being leveraged by equally popular fashion brands. These legitimate partnerships between well-known fashion brands and video game companies let gamers explore fashion through the game itself. Gamers are now treating their in-game characters just as well as their real selves, purchasing Balenciaga skins for their Fortnite avatars and designing virtual Vans sneakers in Roblox.
Collaborations Between Fashion Brands and Video Games
Did we just mention the luxury brand Balenciaga and the American apparel giant Vans? That’s right—collaborations between video games and fashion brands aren’t some fever dream; they’re a natural result of the overlap we’ve been slowly seeing.
Let’s take the collaboration between H&M and Animal Crossing, for example. To promote their new Looop machine, which deconstructs old clothing into usable fabrics, H&M created an Animal Crossing island that replicated the Looop experience. Users could bring over an in-game clothing item to the island and recycle it for a limited-edition custom piece from their #looopit campaign. Following that success, they launched an animal-friendly virtual fashion collection through a digital fashion show.
Meanwhile, high-fashion brand Burberry capitalized on the popularity of Minecraft to craft a specialty in-person collection that infused recognizable motifs and also launched 15 downloadable skins. This double launch bridges the gap between the digital and physical worlds, letting fans demonstrate their love for the game in both domains. Advertising on their site showcases both in-person and in-game styles side by side, showing players that they could match real-world fashion with their virtual look.
What Does the Future Hold?
We’re certainly not finished with the video game-fashion synergy. As technology plays such a major role in shaping our culture, its developments are bound to give way to more innovative collaborations between parties from both sides.
Could we see a greater integration of in-game fashion with other role-playing games or even other genres like sports simulations and action-adventure games? Could more brands follow in Burberry’s footsteps and create in-game and real-life versions of a collection? Perhaps we’ll harness the power of virtual reality and augmented reality? There are so many untapped opportunities yet to be explored. While recent developments have mainly concerned appearance and realistic motion, we could see a greater emphasis on fashion in the coming years.