This Fashion Brand Is Developing a Collection Inside Animal Crossing

Can Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the video-game obsession beloved the world over, get any more fashionable? Yes, it can, in the most literal sense of the word.

This week, Brazilian clothing brand Amaro began in-game island hopping with Mara, a virtual model and trendhunter, seeking inspiration for its upcoming capsule collection.

Players who collect friend codes from Amaro’s social feeds get to hang out with Mara and show off their cute creations. If she likes what she sees, the company will produce the fashions IRL, with select gamers receiving merchandise vouchers as compensation. Fans can follow the design and production process—as pixels morph into wearable fabrics, colors and shapes—on the brand’s Instagram page.

Soko developed the campaign after watching fashionistas flock to Animal Crossing “to create and parade outfits during social isolation, even while staying at home,” Felipe Simi, the agency’s head of creative data, tells Muse.

The resulting fashions—dubbed Amaro’s Cross Collection—will consist of 15-18 pieces, including pants, shirts, tops, dresses, skirts and accessories. They’ll ship in August, priced between $30 and $80.

In Brazil, “62 percent of gamers are women, our sole target,” says Amaro creative director Luciana Cardoso. “On top of that, Animal Crossing became the most-discussed game on Twitter in the country,” so leveraging the platform was a no-brainer.

Other brands have done likewise, notably in Singapore, creating virtual resort getaways and package deliveries, among other initiatives.

Previously, Amaro teamed with Soko and a geneticist to create apparel based on the DNA of diverse women.

Cardoso believes this commitment to “tech savvy, innovation and fashion-technological” hybrids keeps the brand on the leading edge, generating high-profile campaigns that transcend category clutter.

CREDITS

AMARO Team
Creative Director: Luciana Cardoso 
Head of Marketing: Denise Door
Operations Lead: Flavia Penereiro
PR Lead: Camila Assreuy 
Social Media Lead: Marcelo Cidral

SOKO, creative agency
Founder and Head of Creative Data: Felipe Simi
Executive Creative Director: Rafael Caldeira
Creative Data Lead: Rafael Alves
Creative Data: Isabela Marangoni
Art Director: Mildredy Ventorin
Art Director: Juan Portilla
Designer: Maltchique
Art Director and Motion: Lucas Ramos
Copywriter: Ayslan Monteiro
Data Scientist : Teca Barros
Gamer: Ikaro Cavalcante

Head of Operations: Brisa Vicente
Account Director: José Brites
Operations Lead: Brenda Colautti

Founder and Head of Media & Influence: Pedro Tourinho
PR Director: Ana Carolina Chaves
Broadcaster: Lina Mancuso