One the biggest talking points in the fashion industry right now is what on earth will happen to the traditional fashion show formula? While the answer’s not yet clear, things are already changing, with Gucci announcing that it will only show twice a year with ‘seasonless’ collections as opposed to spring/summer and autumn/winter just this week. The CFDA and the BFC have also joined forces to ask that brands stop lavish cruise shows and the unnecessary travel it involves for buyers/editors/models.
But what might these new fashion shows actually look like? To Pyer Moss, it means a drive-in showing of a fashion film with a coinciding capsule of clothes as opposed to a full collection. And now there’s another option courtesy of an unlikely source: a smash-hit Ninetendo game called Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The reason it’s found a fashion following? Because you don’t just choose your avatar’s clothes from a Clueless-esque line-up, you can actually design them.
Brands are also able to create 'full look' outfits that players can dress their avatars in. The Danish brand Ganni has got into the game, with its influencer-favourite dresses and bucket hats already available via access codes.
If you’re wondering what a fashion show crossed with Animal Crossing might look like, the photographer Kara Chung, stylist Marc Goehring and sound director Michel Gaubert have provided a visual. According to Vogue, they’ve collaborated on what they’re calling an ‘Animal Crossing Runway Show’ for Reference, a Berlin-based fashion festival.
‘This is the first all-digital fashion show I have worked on, and I approached it the same way I would approach a physical show, which is instinctively,' Gaubert told Vogue. ‘The difference here is that the show is actually a video clip of an incredibly popular video game – and I aimed for a playful, free-spirited fashion moment; fun and games.’
With clothes designed by Chanel, Dior and Balenciaga, and fashion games like Drest officially a thing, could the gaming world hold the answer for how to stage fashion shows in a pandemic? With a digital-only London Fashion Week coming next month, we’ll have to wait and see. For now, the Nintendo calls.
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