Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and other luxury brands are sponsoring esports and producing in-game items to attract more millennial consumers here, according to game and fashion company officials, Wednesday.
Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and other luxury brands are sponsoring esports and producing in-game items to attract more millennial consumers here, according to game and fashion company officials, Wednesday.
The seemingly clashing combination of luxury brands and video games could be unfamiliar to many but global fashion houses are trying to appeal to those in their teens and 20s, who will soon become a main consumer group, they said.
Data from Boston Consulting Group projects that the global luxury market will be worth $1.5 trillion in 2025 and millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, will account for about 50 percent of luxury product buyers.
Louis Vuitton recently announced a unique partnership with U.S.-based game company Riot Games.
The French designer said it produced a huge trunk as a winning trophy for the game company’s League of Legends World Championship esports competition.
The esports event will kick off in Germany, Oct. 2, and the trophy will be awarded to the winning team in Paris, Nov. 10.
“League of Legends” is a five-on-five online game. Whoever destroys the other side’s base, also known as a Nexus, wins the match. It is the world’s largest esports competition. During the 2018 event, which was held in Korea, Riot Games said 9.9 million esports fans from around the world watched the finals.
Furthermore, Louis Vuitton also designed champion “skins,” which refer to an in-game costume, allowing gamers to change their characters’ appearances.
Given the French brand has previously created cases for conventional sports events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup, producing a trophy trunk for virtual game events is considered rare. But Louis Vuitton decided to participate in the event to be part of a world where sports and entertainment come together.
“The League of Legends World Championship is not only the climax of the tournament: it’s where the world of sports and entertainment come together in celebration of new legends to be born,” Michael Burke, chairman of Louis Vuitton, said.
An official at one of Korea’s major game firms said developing games or in-game items will be effective for the luxury fashion houses to draw more young people to their brands.