Ralph Lauren, Tommy Cash, Hermés, and Nike hop on the virtual bandwagon.
On December 8th, American fashion house Ralph Lauren debuted The Ralph Lauren experience in partnership with gaming platform Roblox, known for games Jailbreak, Murder Mystery 2, and MeepCity. The collaboration showcases the brand’s exclusive gender-neutral digital collection, setting the stage for fashion to become further immersed within the metaverse (the realm of virtual interconnected worlds).
In a statement, vice president of global brand partnerships at Roblox, Christina Wootton, explained how the holiday-themed Ralph Lauren collaboration “instantly transports you into an alpine village where you can explore and enjoy the world of Ralph Lauren.”
Before embarking on the Ralph Lauren Winter Escape experience, players can dress their avatars in The Winter Escape’s clothing collection. Offering engaging winter-themed activities for all Roblox community members, players can enjoy ice skating with friends, warming up at the firepit with a customized hot chocolate from Ralph’s Coffee Truck, and toasting marshmallows. Users can also take part in a holiday treasure hunt that allows exclusive accessories such as hats, sunglasses, bags, and other items to be unlocked.
Available for purchase only on Roblox, the digital clothing line was inspired by Ralph Lauren’s Polo Sport line from the 1990s. Each look was executed with bold colors with sporty graphics featuring eight distinct winter sportswear looks, some from the Polo Sport, Stadium, and Snow Beach archives.
Alongside Ralph Lauren, numerous brands are embracing the leap into the metaverse. Collaborations between Nike X RTFKT and creations by MetaBirkins, and Tommy Cash are all showcasing new and unique ways to create one-of-a-kind products that offer a lasting impact on the digital fashion sphere. On December 16th, Cash is releasing an NFT ( a digital token used to represent real-world objects) titled “Virginity Leaf” alongside AR wardrobe platform ZERO10. Focusing on “Post-Soviet aesthetics,” “Virginity Leaf” consists of 3 digital items: a soviet car transformer, a virginity leaf, and a bread jacket.
No stranger to embracing digital developments, Ralph Lauren was one of the first brands to create an e-commerce site over 25 years ago. This summer, the brand will continue to embrace fashion’s role in the metaverse via the Ralph Lauren X Zepeto digital collection and a new augmented reality Snapchat filter.
Images courtesy of Ralph Lauren.
