The gaming world has been cosying up to fashion for a while – or should that be the other way round? – with Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Ralph Lauren unveiling digital collections, skins, and IRL co-branded capsules over the past few months. And, having long wielded its virtual shears across platforms like Pokémon Go, The Sims, and Animal Crossing, Gucci has now announced an upcoming collaboration with 100 Thieves, the gaming industry’s first lifestyle brand.
Founded in 2017 by Matthew Haag, a professional gamer formerly known as NaDeSHoT, 100 Thieves looks to the likes of Supreme, Jordan, and OVO, hoping to translate the fervent loyalty of the gaming community into veritable hypebeasts. The label, which was established as an alternative to shoddy sports licensing and dodgy merch apparel, has even received investment from Drake and Bernard Arnault.
In a short trailer video released by the gaming corp, the upcoming Gucci collection seems to riff on traditional sports staples – a basketball top, a hoodie, a rugby polo – drawing “on the shared values of freedom and self-expression,” as the Italian fashion house says. 100 Thieves, which is also a collective of gamers, has reached world championships in Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Fortnite – making this collaboration the gaming equivalent of Gucci’s sponsorship of Juventus.
Much like actual sports, gaming is an obvious target for fashion brands, made all the more covetable by the boom in the esports celebrity – fans of whom will align themselves like any other team, dropping serious cash on merch for IRL and URL meetups. To put this into perspective, in 2018, Fortnite made as much money from selling virtual outfits as Amazon made that same year.
Although details remain sparse, the Gucci and 100 Thieves capsule lands on July 19, which can only be accessed with a MY GUCCI account. Sign up here for exclusive access.