Fashion & Gaming: The Quest For Sustainability

Fashion gaming has the power to incentivise players to adopt a mindful approach to fashion consumption and encourage sustainable behaviour. Will it prove effective in reducing the negative social and environmental impact of the industry? - asks Amy Nguyen, Founder and Editor of Sustainable & Social

The fashion industry is leaning into digital maturity, accompanied by a new affinity to gaming. Fashion gamification has enabled designers and wearers to experiment with, and transform, how clothing is presented and consumed. Watch out sonic the hedgehog and Mario, there’s a new flurry of sartorial fashion avatars in town!

What is fashion gamification?

What is gamification? Quite simply, it’s marrying typical elements of games such as competition, point scoring or token collecting with other areas of our daily activities. Rewarding responsible behaviours like upcycling, sharing or renting could prove powerful in the quest for sustainability within the fashion sphere.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable emphasis on gamification as an online marketing tool to stimulate customer engagement with a brand’s product or service.

Games act as an added digital touch point for an organisation to communicate with shoppers. This applies especially to digitally native Gen Z and millennials who have grown up exposed to social networks, the internet and mobile systems. McKinsey reports that companies should be attuned to three implications for Gen Z: consumption as access rather than possession, consumption as an expression of individual identity, and consumption as a matter of ethical concern.

It’s clear fashion gaming facilitates all three and could prove to be an imperative to successful omni-channel marketing. Not only does digital fashion and avatar styling fill the void of impulse shopping, it raises awareness of the implications of over consumption of apparel.

Coronavirus sparks a reprisal of gaming

The global pandemic has sparked a reprisal in gaming with players keen to connect, join online communities and pass time during lockdown. In 2018, the global video games market was worth approximately $115 billion, a value that is set to surpass $128 billion by 2021 according to research from Statista. Animal Crossing is a prime example, dubbed as the game of quarantine with its therapeutic qualities benefiting mental health (in moderation of course).

Interestingly, this gaming community, is predominantly female. A recent survey conducted by MediaKix revealed that mobile gaming is more popular amongst women, where 63% of users surveyed were female. Their research revealed that females spend more on mobile games by 36%, with 60% of these players interacting daily. Data like this supports the case that brands should rapidly work to bridge the gap between current digital touchpoints and gaming platforms.

Will the rise in fashion gaming help the industry become more sustainable?

Games may be a refreshing take on how brands communicate with customers, but how significant a part will they play in helping organisations decarbonise to achieve a 1.5-degree pathway? At this stage, it’s too early to tell. As a new frontier, gaming has been tested by luxury brands as a marketing and customer engagement strategy. However, in the pursuit of a less pollutive industry, it can be considered one tool amongst many to push brands in the direction of commitments made in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

There is the clear argument that the engineering of these games encourage outfit personalisation and virtual styling which fills a void that would otherwise be met from shopping in real life (IRL). This has the potential to reduce overall levels of consumption, in line with Sustainable Development Goal #12 in the hope of abating the current dangerous levels of production. The urgency of this is clear. Global textile production doubled between 2000 and 2015 according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This level of output is predicted to continue to rise to 3978 mega tonnes by 2050, the equivalent to double the carbon emissions of India.

Virtual and augmented realities can appease this seismic footprint. The Fabricant, a digital fashion house who works with the likes of Adidas and Mulberry note that the production of a standard t-shirt accrues a carbon footprint of 80 kilograms per item. To create the same item digitally, produces a tenth of the footprint, purely based on materials and logistics. (Read more on this here)

A third way fashion gaming could make the industry more sustainable is through its influence on the players as everyday citizens. Smart incentivisation layered throughout games, like tokens and rewards could introduce new responsible behaviours for users. This includes upcycling, wardrobe sharing, renting, outfit repeating and sustainable laundry habits.

What limits fashion gaming from accelerating sustainability commitments? Whilst the aforementioned points are valid, translating this gaming behaviour into real life and defining metrics for success is currently challenging. Many players interact with responsible shopping concepts at a game level, but does it convert them to these practices in reality? This aligns to the intention action gap that exists. A recent HBR found that 65% of citizens say they want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, yet only about 26% actually do so.

Another consideration is that, when the industry should be focusing on a model that values de-growth, brands are creating and retailing lines specifically for games. For example, Louis Vuitton’s League of Legends 40-piece collection. Similarly, retailers like Primark and boohooMan, who operate on the antithesis of a sustainable business model, have sought out mobile app gaming as a means to connect with shoppers.

Fashion games in action

The intersection of fashion and gaming is not new, but in the past two years there has been a burst of brand partnerships and digital activities to cater to this market. Here are some examples:

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons

With over 11 million players Animal Crossing has revolutionised profile customisation, allowing creative experimentation with clothing for players. In the game, users are able to create their own fashion shows and don outfits styled by Nooks Street Market. Think streetwear or Simon Rocha.

• Balenciaga - Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow

The fashion house launched its Fall 2021 collection via a video game called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow. Although more of a look book than an in-depth game, Afterworld set out a “hero’s journey” in 2031 where players could travel through different time zones, and scenery including enchanted forests and a post-apocalyptic Balenciaga store.

Explore the look book of the entire game here or watch the video.

• Louis Vuitton X League of Legends

In late 2019, Louis Vuitton released a dedicated 40-piece collection in collaboration with Riot Games “League of Legends”. The partnership was created for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Paris and included accessories designed by Nicolas Ghesquiére, women’s artistic director.

• DREST

Headed by Lucy Yeomans, previously Editor of Harpers Bazaar and Porter Magazine, DREST is an interactive luxury styling game that embraces digital clothing. It has recently partnered with the Green Carpet Fashion Awards to promote responsible and sustainable red-carpet practices. The game is integrated philanthropy, where users can donate to Elbi, a charity platform Natalia Vodianova launched in 2018. My favourite element of DREST is the ability to click through to shop the looks featured in the game.

• Gucci X Tennis Clash

Tennis Clash is regularly voted on of the best sporting games online. So, who better for Gucci to partner with to showcase an exclusive tennis collection and competition? This example highlights the opportunities to drive increased brand awareness and acquisition outside of usual customer segments.

• American Vogue X Gigi Hadid

To support her American Vogue cover, Gigi Hadid launched her very own fantasy fashion ‘game’. Whilst there doesn’t appear to be too much depth to the design, the pixelated 3D interactive offered the opportunity to unlock new outfits and accessories from the likes of JW Anderson and Gucci. Players could also immerse themselves in the world of the super model through lifestyle activities such as shopping and horse riding, a notable favourite pastime of Hadid.

In addition to an array of new platforms like Club House and Tik Tok, fashion brands are now integrating streamed gaming platforms like Twitch into their digital strategies. Burberry became the first luxury brand partner, having most recently showcased their remote A/W Men’s 2021 collection via their account.

In conversation with Marta Waydel, Fashion Innovation Specialist & Founder of Portabello Game

To better understand the evolution of fashion, gaming and innovation, I spoke with Marta Waydel – an innovation specialist and researcher.

Marta’s work to date has focused on digitising sustainable fashion consumption. She is a Co-Founder of iKLEID - an experience platform that aims to mitigate overconsumption and experiment with how to better use clothes. Marta has also been consultant for WEARSustain, an EU wearable and e-textiles project tackling sustainability challenges through research and innovation.

Complimenting her background in computer science and fashion buying and merchandising, she is completing a PHD focused on how gamification has the potential to tip behaviours towards sustainable fashion consumption. In line with this research, alongside gaming veterans such as Kelly Vero, Waydel is working on a new project – Portobello Game.

“Fashion gaming is not just a marketing mechanism; it is a powerful opportunity to teach users about what responsible fashion consumption can look like. The user insights can be analysed to derive lessons and create a positive feedback loop.”

Waydel observes this new normal of integrative gaming and marketing is moving customers away from continuous purchasing. Instead, it is promoting a fashion culture that is less trend dependent. User behaviour in games can also provide brands with a highly detailed and large quantity of data about consumer preferences - a powerful gain notes Marta.

We discussed what the main barriers are for those looking to enter this new arena. Marta underlined that understanding the player audience is essential and ensuring the aesthetic of the game aligns to your brand DNA. This includes strategic partnerships that match your brand image and stylistic codes.

Careful consideration should be given to how designers incentivise players throughout the various levels and stages of their games. “The gamification aspect is also important to consider. We need to find out the intrinsic motivation of the players and what causes people to do something.”

For the Portobello Game, defining the target audience has been straightforward. Marta and the team want to focus their efforts on citizens who create the largest carbon footprint and garment waste through their fast fashion affiliations. Their approach is to target younger players to transform their habits.