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Professional Fashion Designers Showcase New Outfits in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Fashion magazine Vogue reported on Tuesday that fashion designer labels Marc Jacobs, Valentino, and Sandy Liang have been creating custom clothing designs for the Nintendo Switch game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. On May 30 and April 1, Valentino offered 20 custom outfits from its men's and women's SS20 and pre-fall 20/21 collections to download via codes shared through social media.

The game's robust customization and design options, along with its 11 million player base, make it an ideal platform for designers to show off their works, even in a pandemic-stricken world. “In the world of Animal Crossing, just as in real life, fashion and interior design are also important elements for players to express their personal tastes and individuality,” Animal Crossing: New Horizons director Aya Kyogoku told Vogue. "Being able to share those creations offers a point for users to connect; it's a way for players who like creating designs to show them to others."

Vogue also highlighted Instagram accounts including @NookStreetMarket, @CrossingTheRunway and @AnimalCrossingFashionArchive, which have found fame in the community for designing unique outfits. Kara Chung, who runs the @AnimalCrossingFashionArchive account, started off recreating runway designs in the game, and has since formally collaborated with luxury labels such as Marc Jacobs and Valentino.

Although Animal Crossing offers a means for designers to show off their works without the need to submit to the existing seasonal show schedule, recreating showcases in the video game can still be time-consuming work, as designer Sandy Liang noted in an Instagram post: "Hope you have fun browsing through our lookbook that was oddly just as time-consuming as a real lookbook shoot,” they wrote.

In these times of self-isolation, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is giving players the opportunity to live vibrant social lives, including virtual celebrations, spending time together with their friends, and sparking romantic connections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently offered 400,000 iconic art pieces to Animal Crossing players.

Source: Vogue (Julia Hobbs)