At first glance, Animal Crossing (the impossibly cute open-ended role-playing game) is an unlikely place to find high fashion. It’s a place where you collect furniture, fossils, and bugs, build and design your home, and befriend animal villagers, to list just a few of the game-play possibilities, but thanks to the game’s ability to create outfits from scratch, it’s unexpectedly become a virtual haven for fashion fanatics. Unlike real life, the access to style is pretty egalitarian (you can pay for some stuff, but a lot of it is free), but like real life, designers, musicians, and stylists are getting in on the game.
There’s entire archival Instagram feeds devoted to Animal Crossing ’fit pics, where devoted fans have created approximations of Dior sweaters, Carhartt basics, and bright green Issey Miyake pleated dresses inside the game, thanks to a feature that lets you build custom outfits from scratch. People are re-creating exact looks from the runway, like this colorblocked Jacquemus sweater, or this Craig Green poncho, and they’re memorializing their work in virtual photoshoots. The high fashion in the game mostly exists in the counterfeit market at the moment, but it’s only a matter of time.
Designer Sandy Liang hosted a pop-up in the game this past weekend (so if you’ve ever coveted one of her popular fleeces, you could try on one virtually). Meanwhile, the musician Yaeji and her stylist Monica Kim are releasing exclusive merch in the game. Yes, there’s now merch in virtual reality. Not only has it become a channel of sartorial expression for players; it’s also emerged as a way for clothing brands to promote their own designs.
As technology has been a saving grace for socializing in these times, a video game emerges as a surprising source of inspiration for fashion companies and consumers alike.
Selling any turnips❔ We partnered with the Animal Crossing Fashion Archive Instagram to bring some of our favorite #THEMARCJACOBS pieces to #AnimalCrossing pic.twitter.com/pduxRf7cdM
— Marc Jacobs (@marcjacobs) May 2, 2020
Not long ago, the Getty Museum created a virtual gallery with art from Van Gogh, Rembrandt and more. Now, New York-based artist Nichole Shinn is launching a group exhibition inside the game that features new and original works by over 20 contributing artists.
What may have started as a joke has become a full-on fashion library, which Animal Crossing fans turn to for style inspo when putting together their virtual ensembles. Similar accounts like @NookStreetMarket post runway replicas and share their design’s QR codes, allowing followers to re-create the looks on their own.
With more and more people jumping on the Animal Crossing couture wagon, the concept even boasts its own popular hashtag: #AnimalCrossingDesigns.