From virtual influencers to sustainability, new technologies are radically changing the fashion world in so many different ways.
To begin with the history of e-commerce back in the 90’s, high fashion houses have maintained an elongated affair with digital sphere. Digitalizing the fashion industry resulted in social media marketing, virtual reality trials and digital fashion shows in a large-scale, which have shown to be effective strategies for raising brand awareness and income. To say the least, 2020 has been a game changing year. With everyone around the world being confined to their homes, all of us turned to our devices and the digital world more so than ever To keep up with the trend, brands tried to promptly digitize to accelerate their platforms and power by switching up their marketing strategies and collaborations. With young consumers spending more time in video games, fashion brands are trying to strategically get their attention sparking a new marketing trend for the industry. A research team called YPlulse’s Gaming Trend Research found that 94% of the people, aged between 13-39, are spending most of their non-work related distractions in video games. Also, the population of people aged between 35-39 spend the most money on video games and are all captivated by this ever expanding technology.
Although, in-game fashion collaborations existed even before the lockdowns, the pandemic surely propelled jibrands and labels into the E-spots realm vastly over the past year. Gaming platforms like Fortnite, PUBG, Animal Crossing, Roblox and so on are surging in popularity and brands are smartly finding their way into those platforms as a progressively important way into marketing for the youth. When it came to fashion, the fashion industry, which was a stronghold of convention, became unusually and exceptionally innovative as a result of the pandemic. Some brands hosted virtual fashion shows, while some developed short movies a d shot their look books in numberless creative ways. And now, the video game platform is one of the most imaginative ways for a designer to showcase their collection. Initially, it may have seemed like an unlikely collaboration, however, we have reached the point where offline and online lives are merging leading to gamification of many aspects of our lives. Because of such technological advancements, the way we shop for clothes or purchase anything at all has changed drastically than ever. Nonetheless, we can certainly predict that both the industries will flourish, keep getting better and increase their earnings in the future if they continue to move forward together side by side.
One of the top notch brands, Burberry has recently debuted a line of in-game accessories for an online game called Blanko’s Block Party, which were released as series of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on the 11th of August. It represents a new frontier for the convergence of gaming and fashion, one that seems to be highly profitable for brands owing to its use of digital ownership that can take advantage of it. The popular brand Gucci has also partnered with games like The Sims, Animal Crossing, Roblox, Pokémon Go, Tennis Clash and League of Legends, all within the last year. Similarly, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Valentino and a shopping platform called Klarna have virtually redesigned a whole slew of high fashion ensembles to fit the I Crossing Avatar’s standards. Burberry has so far designed skins for Tencent’s Honor of Kings characters, Louis Vuitton has paired with Riot Games to launch a League of Legends capsule collection, and Ralph Lauren has revamped their wardrobe for Snapchat’s Bitmojis. Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière teamed with Riot’s artisans to craft prestige in-game cosmetics as well as a physical capsule collection of bracelets, boots, and bubble skirts as part of the League of Legends x Louis Vuitton collaboration. In the past 18 months, Puma has signed four deals with E-sports and gaming organizations. The latest collaboration with Gen.G Esports, a South Korean company that runs the online game callrd League of Legends, which comprises Puma jerseys and a co-branded clothing collection.
Gamers and E-spots enthusiasts are rapidly displaying themselves as beauty and fashion customers willing to invest on both virtual and real-world goods, drawing the attention of diverse breed of brands. Female gamers are on the rise, and gamers’ general spending power has soared, allowing marketers to recognize this population as a marketable audience of potential customers. Lockdowns and social distancing were predicted to raise the $159.3 billion E-sports and gaming sector to 2.7 billion players by the end of 2020. According to Matt Shaw, senior strategist of E-sports and marketing innovation at Puma, 85% of Puma’s US male customers are gamers and among them, about 75% regularly streams their play on social media platforms. While there is no statistics as to how much money is spent on luxury and beauty in E-sports and gaming, the success of recent fashion and beauty collaborations indicates that the audience is willing to pay on these promotional offerings. Collaborations with big-name brands are viewed positively by fans and players as deserved recognition of the value and cultural significance of E-sports and gaming in general. Farzam Kamel, co-founder and president of New York-based E-sports organization Andbox says that the growth and establishment of E-sports’ leagues has resulted in increasing investment in consumer touch points that has previously been overlooked.
Given how much gaming powerhouses profit from the cultural impact and money made by these profitable connections, it is a win-win situation for everyone involved — and one that appears likely to continue in the future.
