Gamers can have drip
July 14, 2023 6:16 AM Subscribe
Video Game Fashion Week 2023 [Polygon]: We’re digging into all sorts of angles on how games and fashion converge, from the evolution of Link’s hairstyles to the ruthless nature of Style Savvy to game-themed makeup tutorials and what it’s like to live a week as Mario. If you want to learn, reminisce, or simply appreciate the lengths people go to style your favorite characters, you’ll find plenty to love here.
• A Link between hairstyles: How Legend of Zelda matched hair to the masculinity of the moment
• A Link between hairstyles: How Legend of Zelda matched hair to the masculinity of the moment
“While his uniform — green tunic, floppy beanie, boots, and relatively skintight pants — remains fairly consistent (with the exception of the highly customizable outfits in newer installments), Link’s hair defines the Hero of Time with each console incarnation. The Hero of the Skies from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword sports an uncanny early Instagram look, with over-inflated lips and neat, side-swept bangs . The Hylian Champion in Breath of the Wild rocks a modern reinterpretation of a mullet cut. Link is not your average mascot: His looks, which include soft, androgynous features, a sharp nose, and a lithe physique, set him apart from most Nintendo, Sony, and Sega mascots. He is, by all means, classically handsome and hot — and his hair plays a major role in conveying his handsomeness. That’s because all of Link’s hairdos reflect major hairstyle trends across the decades.”• Deus Ex’s Eliza Cassan became my burlesque muse: And she’s the only AI I’ll use to create a nerdlesque act
“LikeLike the name implies, nerdlesque — a portmanteau of “nerd” and “burlesque” — combines fandom with the art of striptease. I compare it to fanfiction because we are doing more than stripping out of a cosplay. A nerdlesque act tells a story, which could be, as in some fanfics, simply a character getting ready for sexy times. I enjoy reframing the main narrative or casting a character in a different light, like giving Naked Snake the same sexed-up treatment that many female characters in the Metal Gear Solid games received. With burlesque being a predominantly female industry, many of us nerdlesquers have experienced being questioned on our fandom devotion and knowledge. Therefore, we tend to shy away from using an unfamiliar character’s costume as inspiration. No one likes being accused of being a “fake fan.” Nevertheless, I decided to take that gamble in creating my Eliza Cassan act. I had already executed a fashion-first approach to nerdlesque with my solo debut. I used the trope of taking the glasses off to make over the geeky girl as a starting point and created an homage to comic book fangirls. This time, I would be portraying a character rather than a fantasy version of me, but if I could build a whole burlesque routine from the act of removing my glasses (and then revealing that I could not see), then I could definitely learn enough about a character to portray her accurately without having to play the video game.”• FF14 glamour hunters: the sneakerheads who kill god in the name of fashion and friends: A report from the MMORPG’s most passionate scene
“I assumed Final Fantasy 14 glamour hunters — the players who devote hundreds of hours to collecting pieces of gear and in-game wardrobe pieces in Square Enix’s MMORPG — were an unapproachable group of players. From the outside, they seem capable of clearing any and all raids, no matter the difficulty level. They are lone ranger hunters out for blood, and extremely focused on grinding for their goals. They have the patience of great white sharks stalking their prey (which, in this case, would be a shirt or pair of pants — known in the game as “glamour”). I was wrong. When I reached out to a handful of glamour hunters on Discord, Reddit, and Twitter, expecting pushback, I was greeted with excitement. When I asked for the highlights of their glamour hunts, expecting to hear something akin to an ESPN anchor play-by-play, I discovered “sport” wasn’t even the right metaphor for glam hunting. For players in deep, the hunt is something closer to language. This makes sense if you think of glam hunting as a true part of the fashion conversation — these players are right there with sneakerheads, Vivienne Westwood acolytes, or dedicated Fragrantica reviewers.”• Style Savvy shows ‘games for girls’ can be as ruthless as their male-targeted counterparts: Nintendo’s dress-up series has never been just about fashion
“ItIt took me years to realize I was a gamer. Not because I felt any issue with the term, and not because I didn’t play games — in fact, I’d been playing games for as long as I could remember. But I never connected the dots between the games I grew up on and the newest Mario or Pokémon titles my friends played, because my games of choice revolved around fashion. It wasn’t until years later that I realized the games I grew up on had just as much merit as anything else on the market, and one franchise in particular had imprinted itself onto my psyche forever by inadvertently teaching a crash course on the capitalist underbelly of the fashion industry. [...] I have vivid memories of putting customers in clunky, visually unbalanced outfits, and committing the cardinal sin of sneaking pieces into their looks that violated their style preference. What shocked me as a kid was that I never received so much as a slap on the wrist for putting NPCs in these atrocities, and when I realized that there was no programming to keep these greedy impulses in check, all bets were off.”• Mega Man’s journey from Blue Bomber to bombshell: Early ’90s trends couldn’t be denied
“ForFor decades, gamers have been helping Mega Man and the great Maverick Hunter known as X foil the plans of the evil Dr. Wily and Sigma. But even those familiar with the Mega Man franchise don’t know much about the differences between the two heroes headlining the series, as Capcom has left both as stoic icons with incomplete biographies. Thanks to the hundred-year difference between the original Mega Man’s crusade and the time of X’s adventures, though, one thing is clear: Much has changed in the franchise’s attitude, style, and accessorizing. [...] According to Inafune in Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works, the series’ main character needed to change in part because of the success of role-playing games where characters evolved over time. “Mega Man was not shining as brightly in this light,” he said, which is why the team added more power-ups. [...] It’s no surprise that someone this fashionably versatile, robot or not, would find that passion to keep changing and unlocking their visual potential amid threats of failure and self-doubt. The older Mega Man never stood a chance against the test of time, a victim of his own creation, destined to never understand the true value of upgrading, wardrobe and all.”• Overwatch turned accurate footwear into fetish wear: Sometimes all it takes to set the internet off is giving a robot toenails
“It’s not new that video game characters have been sexualized, but the particular way that Overwatch’s social media sexualizes its characters’ feet feels like the culmination of decades of separate phenomena finally converging. It’s not just that a sexual attraction to feet is super common (it is) or that there is an entire digital industry dedicated to the exchange of feet pics for cash (there is), but the peculiar and specific ways those phenomena converge in the gaming community. In 2021, adult film site Pornhub reported that Lara Croft was the most-searched video game character on its site; typing her name into its search bar produces an overwhelming number of tentacle erotica-related results. That same year, D.Va, a tank hero from Overwatch, was the second-most-searched video game character. There’s even a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to the history of Overwatch pornography. The foot fetish obsession surrounding Overwatch seems to be a natural progression of a long tradition of presenting video game characters without shoes. There’s even an entire page on TV Tropes, a site dedicated to cataloging recurring themes in popular culture, about video game characters who go barefoot.”• Cursed Miis became our utopia: Everyone from my grandma to Zelda’s designers knew why wacky Mii design was a form of joy
“Over the early to mid-2010s, the Mii Channel, with countless options for noses, brows, eyes, and other customizable body parts, evolved into an intergenerational activity at our family meetups. Gathered around a TV at grandma’s house, the kids debated features with our uncles. We’d get chuckles from a cousin when we teased her tall stature with the longest height possible, and an amused glare from an aunt when her husband rotated and moved her Mii’s eyebrows to resemble antennae (no reason, just vibes). After sessions upon sessions of designing cursed Miis, we stormed into games like Wii Sports Resort, decimating the Ping-Pong champion using a Burger Mii and slamming the CPU Mii Ryan with a Mii donning a bowling ball face. Though our cursed Mii construction has largely faded into memory since, our Miis lurk in our Mii Channel to this day, waddling around with their unholy expressions and noseless faces. Confession: I still find them funny.”• Transform yourself into a Great Fairy from Zelda: Ocarina of Time - It just takes some makeup and creativity
“Then, my younger brother shoved the Ocarina of Time cartridge into our shared console. This game was teeming with women! Hyrule was created by goddesses. Link’s best friend is Saria, and his sometimes-annoying fairy companion Navi uses she/her pronouns. Titular Zelda tasks Link with the game’s main quest, though her caretaker Impa honestly seems like she could wipe the floor with Ganondorf from the start. Malon runs a whole farm while her dad snoozes. Princess Ruto is a demanding brat, but I adore her! The understandably misandrist community of Gerudo will actually jail you for happening to present as male, which seems pretty harsh until you consider their own experience with Ganondorf. And then there’s the Great Fairy, the shrieking drag queen who rocked my entire concept of femininity. Imagine my surprise when a nearly naked babe burst forth from the Fairy Fountain, but instead of snickering when the Great Fairy bounced her ass in the air, all the preteen boys of my acquaintance were scared into silence. She actually seems to be trapped in a disempowered position — when summoned, she invariably appears and helps you out. She’s dressed and depicted in an intentionally titillating fashion, with the camera panning slowly along her body. And yet her introduction reliably causes men to recoil in fright. Is it her large size? Is it simply that her laugh is that powerful? I still struggle to articulate a cogent explanation for her impact, but I immediately embarked upon a lifelong attempt to imitate it.”• Game companies are allergic to making fashionable merch — so fans stepped in
“Video game designers and artists meticulously build in-game cosmetics to be on-trend, fashionable, and in some cases functional pieces of attire. For gamers interested in drip that’s not as drab as the Phil Spencer blazer, T-shirt, and jeans look, it’s fascinating to track how real-world influences affect in-game cosmetics. But as life influences art in these designs, shouldn’t art influence life? This is why it’s so disappointing that in many cases, even the most ready-to-wear designs from games aren’t available to buy as merch. Some brands partner with external designers and shops like The Yetee, Insert Coin, and Fangamer to recreate specific in-game looks, but for the most part, the fashion options offered by gaming companies are just elevated promotional materials. What many fashion-forward gamers really want, however, is to express themselves the same way their favorite games allow them to. If you want to wear your favorite looks from a video game, you’ll generally have to roll your sleeves up and make them yourself.”• They made Waluigi sexy, but their future is Mushroom Kingdom drama: Lovebunny and DinoGraveyard are carving out a TikTok alternative to the Mario movie through cosplay
““I’d say it’s like Bridgerton in the Mario universe,” says Kade. “We’re making these characters where they’re not necessarily a good guy or a bad guy, but just people making mistakes.” Over a video call, Kade and Ken sit in an office adorned with anime posters and trinkets slathered with pastel pinks and electric blues. Ken’s gaming chair is straight from Princess Peach’s color palette and has a pair of rosy rabbit ears nestled on its headrest. They’re living and breathing the Mushroom Kingdom — but that wasn’t necessarily the dream. “We didn’t start off thinking, Oh, I’m going to be a professional YouTuber or TikToker,” adds Ken. “We just thought it might be something fun on the side.” At first, Ken and Kade started their individual platforms on TikTok, where they simply wanted to experiment with cosplay as avid fans of the art form. Now, across their TikTok accounts and combined YouTube channel, Ken and Kade have a massive 3.7 million followers, as of this writing. Like others in the hobby, the duo dons ornate costumes to embody their favorite franchise’s characters, including but not limited to the aforementioned pink-laden damsel in distress and the anthropomorphic fire-breathing turtle Bowser.”• The looks that slayed hardest in Resident Evil 4, ranked: Only the sexiest can survive
“Capcom’sCapcom’s Resident Evil series has always centered around two things: being hot and staying alive, in that order. Well, and rocket launchers, but those are pretty hot, too. From the very beginning, since Resident Evil in 1996, Capcom has equipped nearly everyone — good guys, baddies, and hell, sometimes even the monsters — with outfits, accessories, poses, and glamour fit for a fashion show. It’s only when the gunfire, zombies, and monologues about world domination and viruses arrive that it becomes clear that the Resident Evil franchise isn’t a fashion show. But you know what? The outfits in Resident Evil 4, and specifically its 2023 remake, deserve to be reviewed like one. Capcom wisely updated some character designs for the remake, including Ashley Graham, and added some new, optional costumes, but don’t worry: Leon’s classic jacket from 2005 is back, and it looks better than ever. We’ll get to him, but fair warning: It would be impossible to include every time a character served (it would just be a playthrough of the entire game?). So, here are the best, most fashionable outfits and slays from the Resident Evil 4 remake, ranked.”
The extent to which modern Zelda games are just ineffably horny cannot be understated. Almost every character in TOTK is just crazy hot. The Great Fairies; Sidon; Purah; Hudson; literally every Gerudo; sexy, sexy Ganondorf.
And a big part of it is their fits. Like every outfit is carefully selected for maximum horniness. The first time I put on the Miner's top I might have audibly gasped.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:12 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
And a big part of it is their fits. Like every outfit is carefully selected for maximum horniness. The first time I put on the Miner's top I might have audibly gasped.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:12 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Fizz, you’ve been killing it this week. Yet another great post to dig into. Thank you.
The RE4 outfits ranking is great. Such an over-the-top game I enjoyed replaying this year because it’s silly and also tense at times.
posted by glaucon at 7:22 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
The RE4 outfits ranking is great. Such an over-the-top game I enjoyed replaying this year because it’s silly and also tense at times.
posted by glaucon at 7:22 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
...Hudson?
posted by Hermione Dies at 7:32 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Hermione Dies at 7:32 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think Honkai Impact 3rd deserves a mention - they showcase their character's alternate skins through a literal monthly in-game fashion magazine photoshoot with a banger soundtrack. Though it's a mobile phone game from 2016 it holds up reasonably well and has surprisingly fast paced and strategic combat mechanics.
Cerulean Court for Azure Empyrea.
Stellar Promise for Dea Anchora.
Magic Girl Sirin for Herrscher of the Void.
Onyx Simurgh for Hawk of The Fog.
There also Infinity Nikki (reveal trailer) which is literally an open world "dress up adventure game".
posted by xdvesper at 7:38 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Cerulean Court for Azure Empyrea.
Stellar Promise for Dea Anchora.
Magic Girl Sirin for Herrscher of the Void.
Onyx Simurgh for Hawk of The Fog.
There also Infinity Nikki (reveal trailer) which is literally an open world "dress up adventure game".
posted by xdvesper at 7:38 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
What a fun series of articles! I particularly like the comparison of FFXIV players to sneakerheads. Also highlighting the Great Faeries; they are terrifying. In my head they're more classic Harvey Fierstein style drag queens though.
My current game is Midnight Suns, which is a nice mashup of XCOM 2, superheroes, and a dating sim. And there's a zillion unlockable outfits and some of them are fabulous. Unfortunately they're all-or-nothing, you can't make your own combinations. The extent to which the glamourous folks in FFXIV create stuff is really remarkable.
posted by Nelson at 7:49 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
My current game is Midnight Suns, which is a nice mashup of XCOM 2, superheroes, and a dating sim. And there's a zillion unlockable outfits and some of them are fabulous. Unfortunately they're all-or-nothing, you can't make your own combinations. The extent to which the glamourous folks in FFXIV create stuff is really remarkable.
posted by Nelson at 7:49 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Still waiting for a write up about which FF X-2 dressphere is best. The game fully embraced the perfect outfit for every occasion school of thought.
The answer is Festivalist although Mascot is pretty swell too. Or maybe Trainer? Gun Mage? There are a lot ofoutfits classes to pick from.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:00 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
The answer is Festivalist although Mascot is pretty swell too. Or maybe Trainer? Gun Mage? There are a lot of
posted by fiercekitten at 8:00 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
For anyone who has a Switch, the upcoming Fashion Dreamer is looking really fun.
posted by Fizz at 8:09 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 8:09 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Game companies are allergic to making fashionable merch
God, this I 100% agree with. Going to enormous lengths to design characters that look amazing, and the merch for the game is... hoodies and ill-fitting T-shirts.
Come on.
posted by mhoye at 8:24 AM on July 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
God, this I 100% agree with. Going to enormous lengths to design characters that look amazing, and the merch for the game is... hoodies and ill-fitting T-shirts.
Come on.
posted by mhoye at 8:24 AM on July 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Whoever decided to use the term drip should reconsider. It sounds like something you should get a shot for.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:48 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 8:48 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I really love my Celeste t-shirt, and await the day when someone recognizes it in the wild.
(One time someone at a bar asked where I got my Niners baseball cap. The nerds recognized one another that day, I can tell you.)
posted by kaibutsu at 8:50 AM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
(One time someone at a bar asked where I got my Niners baseball cap. The nerds recognized one another that day, I can tell you.)
posted by kaibutsu at 8:50 AM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
BioWare had some interesting N7 (Mass Effect) merch that wasn't just crap. It was expensive though.
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:00 AM on July 14, 2023
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:00 AM on July 14, 2023
No Souls drip? Denied!
Fashion souls is definitely a big consideration. I played most of Elden Ring with a friend and was constantly worrying about staying cool-looking. It messes with my game sense to have a silly looking character! Then here he was maxing stats with the ugliest, most mismatched, bulky and ridiculous outfits, clearly not giving af. I feel like this is a thing you're born with, like being OK with pineapple on pizza or something.
Interestingly some of the best fashion in gaming right now is probably in Diablo 4, where each class has a couple dozen mix-and-match pieces you unlock throughout the game, and which you can recolor as well. The attention to detail is really quite remarkable, and there's a real diversity in looks between garments and classes.
What's funny about it though is the game is played zoomed out far enough from your character that you can barely pick out these details. Not to mention the screen is usually full of giant attack effects and damage numbers. It's one of the many self-defeating aspects of this equally fun and perplexing game.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:29 AM on July 14, 2023
Fashion souls is definitely a big consideration. I played most of Elden Ring with a friend and was constantly worrying about staying cool-looking. It messes with my game sense to have a silly looking character! Then here he was maxing stats with the ugliest, most mismatched, bulky and ridiculous outfits, clearly not giving af. I feel like this is a thing you're born with, like being OK with pineapple on pizza or something.
Interestingly some of the best fashion in gaming right now is probably in Diablo 4, where each class has a couple dozen mix-and-match pieces you unlock throughout the game, and which you can recolor as well. The attention to detail is really quite remarkable, and there's a real diversity in looks between garments and classes.
What's funny about it though is the game is played zoomed out far enough from your character that you can barely pick out these details. Not to mention the screen is usually full of giant attack effects and damage numbers. It's one of the many self-defeating aspects of this equally fun and perplexing game.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:29 AM on July 14, 2023
I absolutely stink at caring about fashion (I've tried; never sticks) or fashion in video games, but every one of these articles I've read so far is delightful. The nerdlesque article is my favorite so far, and I clicked on it expecting to bounce off. Nope. Charm and consideration and good nerdiness all the way down.
posted by lauranesson at 10:45 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by lauranesson at 10:45 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Interestingly some of the best fashion in gaming right now is probably in Diablo 4, where each class has a couple dozen mix-and-match pieces you unlock throughout the game, and which you can recolor as well. The attention to detail is really quite remarkable, and there's a real diversity in looks between garments and classes.
Yeah, I go to the wardrobe mirror all the time b/c I'm just trying to glamour my way through Diablo 4 while fighting demons in my best costume. I know you can zoom in but its such a ridiculous zoom that it then makes gameplay impossible (at least on console).
Such a beautiful but frustrating design.
posted by Fizz at 10:52 AM on July 14, 2023
Yeah, I go to the wardrobe mirror all the time b/c I'm just trying to glamour my way through Diablo 4 while fighting demons in my best costume. I know you can zoom in but its such a ridiculous zoom that it then makes gameplay impossible (at least on console).
Such a beautiful but frustrating design.
posted by Fizz at 10:52 AM on July 14, 2023
The invisibility of fashion while playing is a feature in a whole lot of games. Path of Exile is what comes to mind right now. Folks pay $20+ for items of clothing in that game and yet you pretty much never see them. You mostly don't play with other people, either, so no one else is seeing them either. Despite all that it's fun to dress up your doll action figure Exile, although not $20+ fun for me.
It's one reason I find FF XIV fashion so compelling; it really is visible. And there's a lot of structure in-game for sharing fashion with other people. Also fancy graphics tools out-of-game to take really elaborate screenshots with beautiful shading, to share on Eorzea Collection or social media or whatever. It's remarkably effective.
I should probably mention World of Warcraft's Trial of Style, too, an occasional competitive event with other people to quickly design costumes to match a given theme. Winners are selected by vote. It seems to work, I think in part because folks take it seriously but not too seriously.
posted by Nelson at 11:19 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's one reason I find FF XIV fashion so compelling; it really is visible. And there's a lot of structure in-game for sharing fashion with other people. Also fancy graphics tools out-of-game to take really elaborate screenshots with beautiful shading, to share on Eorzea Collection or social media or whatever. It's remarkably effective.
I should probably mention World of Warcraft's Trial of Style, too, an occasional competitive event with other people to quickly design costumes to match a given theme. Winners are selected by vote. It seems to work, I think in part because folks take it seriously but not too seriously.
posted by Nelson at 11:19 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Not a single mention of Guild Wars 2, also frequently called Fashion Wars 2, where a big selling point of the hardest to acquire gear is that it allows skin swaps at any point outside of combat? Come on Polygon, you can do better than this.
posted by Ahniya at 2:31 PM on July 14, 2023
posted by Ahniya at 2:31 PM on July 14, 2023
I too love Final Fantasy XIV Online's Fashion Report, a weekly event for connoisseu.r.se.s of fine fashion in which players are challenged to dress themselves according to a theme issued by the mysterious Masked Rose, and receive prizes according to their style enthusiasm interpretation of the theme ability to guess that the textual clues in the theme mean they should wear a pair of long black sandals, something turquoise on their legs, a leopardcoeurl-spotted fedora, a pair of thick purple mittens with a cute pattern, and a termite (?) person's literal thorax. And carry a bright pink weapon.
Seriously though, check out Eorzea Collection.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 1:27 AM on July 15, 2023
Seriously though, check out Eorzea Collection.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 1:27 AM on July 15, 2023
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posted by Fizz at 6:44 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]