Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga have unveiled their new Autumn/Winter 2021 collection through an interactive online video game. Launched on December 6th, Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow allows users to play for free via their web browser.
With the theme of the collection being Human Destiny, Balenciaga takes the user on a gaming journey set in 2031, allowing players to navigate a virtual reality with characters dressed head-to-toe in the new collection.
Although Balenciaga kept most of the details underwraps prior to launch, they teased that the game would be the ‘largest volumetric video project ever undertaken’.
Under the creative direction of Demna Gvasalia since 2015, the Georgian designer has previously expressed a desire to use different formats to showcase his collections, hinting at a digital approach for the future.
BALENCIAGA VIRTUAL WORLD
The Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow video game is structured in five different levels, or "zones", which the player simply has to walk through, following a predetermined path of glowing arrows.
The journey starts out in a Balenciaga retail store, before players exit onto a city street and hop onto a bus, which takes flight and warps into thin air.
Participants are then transported to another outdoor environment where they are directed through a series of abandoned concrete structures, and towards a dark forest opening. A white rabbit leads players through the forest to a "secret rave".
PRIVATE VR RUNWAY SHOW
While anyone can now access the video game via Balenciaga's website, a select group of people were initially invited to play the game via Virtual Reality (VR) headsets instead of attending an in-person runway show.
It was within this game that the brand presented its Fall 2021 line, also called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, which is a continuation of its Summer 2021 pre-collection shown in October 2020.
Avatars are dotted throughout each virtual space dressed in garments from Balenciaga's latest collection. This includes oversized, tailored suits made from t-shirt jersey materials that have been made to look worn and creased.
Balenciaga definitely got people talking by using immersive tech and going all out digital with not only the game but also the runway show. With more and more luxury fashion brands paving the way for other brands to start taking digital campaigns seriously, what kind of innovation do we expect to see in this space?
Click here to try out the Balenciaga Virtual Game
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