Trend forecasters are pointing to avatar fashion as a top trend to watch next year—and Tommy Hilfiger is making sure it’s ready.
The heritage brand debuted a digital collection of some of its most iconic pieces intended for use in Roblox, a global online gaming platform that currently sees 50 million active users each day. The platform features avatars—which users can outfit in a variety of ways—to interact with one another.
The brand partnered with eight user-generated content (UGC) designers from the Roblox community to re-create 30 virtual fashion items from Tommy Hilfiger in both 2D and 3D for use in the game. Users were selected based on the Tommy Hilfiger items they had designed for their avatars, which included a backpack, bucket hat, head bow, headset, cross-body bag, skateboard and more.
“I love how the brand has already been unofficially adopted into the Roblox platform, with users creating their own Tommy Hilfiger styles,” said Tommy Hilfiger. “We couldn’t pass the chance of partnering with some of these fans to take this self-expression one step further, empowering them to bring their creative twist to official brand styles.”
The virtual Tommy x Roblox Creators digital collection is now available for purchase in the Roblox Avatar Marketplace.
The collection follows Tommy Hilfiger’s Fall 2020 partnership with the popular game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” in which it paired with content creators to build “Tommy Island,” in which users could shop the latest Tommy Hilfiger seasonal collection.
According to trend forecasting firm WGSN, the world of avatar fashion is just beginning, and people can expect to see much more of the direct-to-avatar commerce (D2A) retail model that allows selling and designing directly for the virtual world. The segment’s promising future even inspired the British Fashion Council to launch a new award category honoring achievements in metaverse design.
In September, Vans broke into the metaverse with “Vans World,” a 3D space where fans can practice their virtual skateboarding skills and try on exclusive Vans gear. Similarly, Gucci partnered with the platform earlier this year to launch Gucci Garden, a virtual exhibition where users can explore themed rooms inspired by creative director Alessandro Michele’s inspirations. Ralph Lauren has also been an early adopter of the metaverse.
Roblox Corp. was founded in 2004 and just recently gained traction among the younger crowds. In March, the company went public with a $41 billion valuation.
Beyond Roblox, OTB, the parent company of Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Jil Sander, Viktor & Rolf and Amiri, recently debuted Brave Virtual Xperience (BVX), a new business unit entirely focused on developing products for the metaverse, in an attempt to generate new business opportunities and connect with younger demographics.