On Nov. 1, the British luxury fashion house Burberry launched a three-part collaboration with the ultra-successful video game Minecraft. The partnership, ranging from an in-game adventure “Burberry: Freedom to Go Beyond” to a physical clothing capsule collection and branded gaming consoles, is widely considered to be another move towards further fusion between fashion, gaming and the Metaverse.

According to Minecraft, the in-game DLC “Burberry: Freedom to Go Beyond” indicates both brands’ appreciation of natural wonders. The players will enter an alternative, digital version of London under the control of an evil entity named Nexus. The players are then challenged to a quest. “Once a place blooming with foliage and gentle animals, this land has been drained of color and life. Its inhabitants have been scattered to the four realms of air, water, fire, and earth, and your quest is to restore the spirit of the wild by traveling to each realm, reviving its Nature Guardian, and freeing the animals trapped there,” further explains the gaming company.

The collaborated DLC also creatively hints at Burberry’s history with characters that fans of the brand will not miss, including an Equestrian Knight, Thomas Burberry Monogram Maze, and many members of the Burberry animal realm. Each character also has mysterious powers to further entice gamers.

On the other hand, the physical capsule whets fashion lovers’ appetite for a chic and fun OOTD. Using floral, foliage, and landscape elements from Minecraft, the collaboration united traditional, iconic Burberry designs such as the Heritage Trench Coat and House Check with Minecraft’s quirky — but readily recognizable — emblems.

In addition, Burberry and Minecraft are also donating $100,000 to Conservation International’s forest protection and restoration programs, in alignment with the theme of environmental conservation in the digital adventure. “These funds will help protect 500,000 trees and plant 25,000 trees, and also help conserve critical wildlife habitats in places where Conservation International supports,” explained Minecraft. The donors to Conservation International before the end of the year will also receive a package of five Burberry-themed accessories in-game, including caps, sunglasses and backpacks..

Such collaboration between fashion and the digital world is nothing new. To celebrate its eponymous founder’s 200th birthday, French luxury house Louis Vuitton launched a mobile adventure game in August 2021. Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe, moreover, presented Minecraft-inspired, pixelated hoodies and trousers for its Spring/Summer 2023 womenswear collection during Paris Fashion Week on Sept. 30 this year. One Roblox user purchased a virtual Gucci bag back in June 2021. Other luxury brands, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo and Balenciaga, also started selling digital garments across NFT marketplaces.

Another notable venture into the world of digital fashion is CY-B3LLA, an NFT collection by American supermodel Bella Hadid that consists of 11,111 unique works created using a 3D scan of her body and additional endeavors from artists around the world, with a focus on local culture and interpersonal connection post-pandemic. “I want to be used as a vessel for communication and respect and love,” comments Hadid.

These collaborations indicate fashion’s increasing interest in technology and what beauty and fashion mean in a world at the threshold of what could be a new digital revolution, heralded by Metaverse, NFTs, and crypto-currency. The pandemic, which has trapped almost the entire world at home and on the Internet since 2020, may also have fueled the enthusiasm as the fashion industry explores the potentials of a digitally connected future. Followed by praise and shadowed by [criticism] (https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/02/burberry_minecraft_collaboration/), the story of fashion and technology remains yet to truly unfold.