The Top Fashion Brands Are Taking Over Gaming
Image Courtesy: HIGHSNOBIETY
Fashion brands are starting to tap into the gaming world; video games are a billion-dollar business and it’s only continuing to grow. In 2020, the revenue from the worldwide PC market was almost $37 billion dollars while the mobile gaming market had an income of over $77 billion (Gartner). After learning these statistics, it’s no surprise the designer brand Gucci decided to tap into the market. They’ve even begun to sell AI clothing and create their own games. Gamers have reacted positively to the Gucci AI clothing because it lets them differentiate their avatar and express themselves on their gaming platform.
More than 2.5 billion people play games, resulting in a $100 million dollar market for virtual goods. According to Gartner, “the average gamer is 33 years old, upper-middle-class, and spends an average of seven hours gaming.” This provides another channel of revenue for Gucci, but according to Gartner, it also keeps customers engaged and helps them feel more connected to the luxury brand.
Image Courtesy: Gucci
Gucci has partnered with Animal Crossing, Roblox, Pokémon Go, The Sims, Genies, Tennis Clash and League of Legends. One of Gucci’s most exciting projects right now is their collaboration with gamers – more specifically, Fnatic’s League of Legends. Fnatic is a group of gamers from around the world, and the current roster consists of Elias Lipp from Germany, Oskar Boderek from Poland, Yasin Dinçer from Belgium, Zdravets Iliev Galabov from Bulgaria, and Gabriël Rau from Belgium, coached by Jakob Medbi. As one of the strongest European teams since they entered League of Legends in 2011, Fnatic has been the Champion of the Riot Season 1 in 2011 and has won the European Champion Series seven times since (esportsedia). Due to Fnatic’s success and popularity, Gucci created the “Gucci Dive Watch'' with the gamers’ signature colors, orange and black. Last January, Fnatic League of Legends players sat front row at Gucci’s Milan men collection to hint at the projects yet to come.
The designer brand has also created its own arcade game called Gucci Arcade. Right now, the app has two arcade games, and they will be releasing more soon; the games include Gucci Ace and Gucci Bee. Gucci Ace is a tennis match with a twist: each level of the game focuses on a certain era of gaming, where the first level revisits the past in 8-bit retro, while level two is set in the present, and level three is set in future times. Gucci Bee, similar to Pac-Man, focuses on a bee trying to collect badges and avoid the deadly enemy in a trapped maze. The game takes on a vintage aesthetic and features “house characters.” Gucci Arcade is inspired by Gucci’s history, so by design, players learn about the story of the house and its codes. Players are encouraged to collect and show off their badges and achievements from the game.
Image Courtesy: HIGHSNOBIETY
They recently released another arcade game called Sneaker Garage. In this virtual app, it allows users to buy virtual Gucci branded sneakers and try them on, online. Gucci has made it very clear that these sneakers will only be a virtual product and are not a physical Gucci shoe.
Gucci isn’t the only designer tapping into the gaming market. Burberry has begun creating branded games, Valentino is present in Animal Crossing, and Louis Vuitton has partnered with League of Legends. Gaming may or may not be your thing, but it’s amazing to see the fashion world bleed into different markets. Consequently, more people may be discovering their own personal style and finding a way to express themselves. Sounds like it might be a good time to start getting my game on.
Strike Out,
Writer: Lindsay Malley
Editor: Haley Wright
Orlando