Skins in the games: fashion branding and commercial video games
Skins in the games: fashion branding and commercial video games
The intersection between fashion branding and contemporary video games is a dynamic, rapidly evolving space. From luxury brands hosting runway shows in virtual environments to digital fashion collections designed exclusively for popular video game characters, these experimental crossovers are establishing new practices and setting new industry standards. In this chapter, we summarise some of the recent developments at this juncture and discuss the future implications both for the fashion industry and for the games industry. Using Animal Crossing: New HorizonsAnimal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, AQ12020) as case study, we explain how to use a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) video game to explore the nexus of gaming and fashion branding. We argue that in-game photography, customisable environments, simulated economies, interactive events, and virtual design studios provide emerging creators with an entry point into design industries, as well as giving established brands a means to connect to new audiences. We suggest ways in which video games can be used in conjunction with social media platforms to foster creative self-expression and build networks. Specifically, we cover: (1) creating a cohesive aesthetic across a game’s semiotic planes, (2) curating player experiences and ensuring access, (3) managing cross-channel promotion, and (4) encouraging playful engagement and the creation of user-generated content. We conclude by considering some of the ethical issues that arise from the commodification of play and the production of digital garments, including the markets that scaffold Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), the exploitation of fan labour, and legal questions of copyrigh
Digital media, Metaverse, Non-fungible tokens, Video games, Virtual worlds
73-90
Reay, Emma
07fd9558-6d41-426a-abba-c278b28a78f3
Wanick, Vanissa
d2941cae-269e-4672-b448-8cb93e22e89e
2023
Reay, Emma
07fd9558-6d41-426a-abba-c278b28a78f3
Wanick, Vanissa
d2941cae-269e-4672-b448-8cb93e22e89e
Reay, Emma and Wanick, Vanissa
(2023)
Skins in the games: fashion branding and commercial video games.
In,
Bazaki, Eirini and Wanick, Vanissa
(eds.)
Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management.
(Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management)
Springer Nature, .
(doi:10.1007/978-3-031-11185-3_5).
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Book Section
Abstract
The intersection between fashion branding and contemporary video games is a dynamic, rapidly evolving space. From luxury brands hosting runway shows in virtual environments to digital fashion collections designed exclusively for popular video game characters, these experimental crossovers are establishing new practices and setting new industry standards. In this chapter, we summarise some of the recent developments at this juncture and discuss the future implications both for the fashion industry and for the games industry. Using Animal Crossing: New HorizonsAnimal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, AQ12020) as case study, we explain how to use a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) video game to explore the nexus of gaming and fashion branding. We argue that in-game photography, customisable environments, simulated economies, interactive events, and virtual design studios provide emerging creators with an entry point into design industries, as well as giving established brands a means to connect to new audiences. We suggest ways in which video games can be used in conjunction with social media platforms to foster creative self-expression and build networks. Specifically, we cover: (1) creating a cohesive aesthetic across a game’s semiotic planes, (2) curating player experiences and ensuring access, (3) managing cross-channel promotion, and (4) encouraging playful engagement and the creation of user-generated content. We conclude by considering some of the ethical issues that arise from the commodification of play and the production of digital garments, including the markets that scaffold Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), the exploitation of fan labour, and legal questions of copyrigh
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 1 December 2022
Published date: 2023
Additional Information:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Keywords:
Digital media, Metaverse, Non-fungible tokens, Video games, Virtual worlds
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 471531
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/471531
ISSN: 2523-3505
PURE UUID: 15f0f896-9fe3-4d12-a379-eab2545eb2fc
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 10 Nov 2022 17:33
Last modified: 14 Dec 2024 03:08
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Contributors
Author:
Emma Reay
Editor:
Eirini Bazaki
Editor:
Vanissa Wanick
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