It is a truth universally acknowledged that fashion’s true allure lies in its creative reinvention – whether that means the inclusion of new material, new styles, or even brand new mediums for consumers to interact with fashion. For fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry, it is the creation of video games.
British fashion house Burberry, known for its array of stylish gear to battle the elements, has continued the theme in their maiden video game B Bounce. It was launched to coincide with the release of their Monogram Puffer Collection.
In B Bounce, which you can play on the brand’s website, your player character is a deer, which can be fashionably kitted out in coats and hats. You guide your stylish deer on a journey to the moon, dodging various obstacles on the way to earn points, measured in metres.
As you continue to collect metres, you are entitled to an array of fabulous prizes – from digital versions of Burberry jackets to outfit your deer, to real versions of the same for your use. Aside from reaching out to a wholly different crowd with Burberry products, the video game also serves as a way to inform people of the brand’s style, identity and prestige.
Gucci has also begun to create a variety of video games, which are available on its app. Gucci Bee, one of their flagship games, lets you journey as a bee through a changing maze, designed in the style of the seventies and eighties. Recently, Dior has partnered with Snapchat to create augmented reality lenses, which would impose the logo of Dior onto user’s faces, in order to encourage users to develop more brand loyalty.
Aside from video games and filters, Yoox, an Italian online fashion retailer, has been incorporating audience customization in its app since 2018. Their new game, YooxMirror Reloaded, has worked with augmented reality technology and artificial intelligence to give you the choice of over 250 product choices for your avatars.
The digital shopping app Ada, designed by Korean gamer Andy Ku, combines both the digital and real worlds of fashion and shopping. Having signed up with over 20 fashion houses including Armani and Dior, players of Ada can purchase dresses and accessories, using in-game currency, and pose their avatars wearing the outfits. They can also click through to purchase the real version of their exclusive outfits on the brands’ websites.
However, the mother of all fashion video games might just be League of Legends, designed by Louis Vuitton in partnership with e-sports organizers Riot Games. In 2019, the winner of the game would be able to carry home their trophy in a case designed by Louis Vuitton.
The French fashion house also designed a range of skins, which were able to be purchased by players using in-game tokens as well. Their tie-up with Riot Games and foray into gaming was to tap into the growing trend of valuing the digital twin of a product as much as the physical product itself.
Truly a merging of real and virtual.