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Why Louis Vuitton, MAC, Gucci are getting into gaming – and why it won’t stop any time soon
- A stream of fashion and cosmetics collaborations have hit the gaming scene recently, looking for new audiences in a US$152 billion market
- By 2018, China’s online gaming population was made up of nearly half a billion players, with women making up more than half of this market
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No, the fashion gods weren’t playing games with us – the end of the decade really did bring about one of the most unconventional collaborations imaginable, with Louis Vuitton teaming up with game developer Riot Games to create a series of digital “skins” for characters in League of Legends – a hugely popular video game – as well as capsule collections that can be worn in real life.
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From Louis Vuitton’s mark on League of Legends to MAC’s kiss with Honor of Kings, the gaming world is drawing a slew of high-fashion and make-up brands vying for young consumers’ attention that shows no sign of stopping soon.
Gucci invited e-sports organisation Fnatic’s League of Legends team to the front row of its autumn/winter 2020 menswear show at Milan Fashion Week on January 14. There, the five international gamers – all under 25 years old – sat next to celebrities like Salma Hayek and Jared Leto.
This is not the first time in recent history that Gucci has dabbled in gaming. In July 2019, the luxury fashion house launched a Gucci Arcade feature on its mobile app, giving users the opportunity to play retro-style games in exchange for Gucci digital badges.
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For San Francisco-based beauty industry manufacturer Benefit Cosmetics, tapping into the online gaming scene is something of a no-brainer. In January, the company, a subsidiary of LVMH, announced a partnership with e-sports organisation Gen.G, which has built communities in Asia and the US around female gamers including collaborating with dating site Bumble to create an all-women’s Fortnite team.
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