👗🎮 Dialogz: Fashion Finally Gets Its Stage in Gaming

Hello there culture builders, fashion dreamers.

Today’s Dialogz takes us to a new kind of runway — one paved with pixels. We spoke with TRACY GREENAN▪︎ and Fija Dahlia, the Executive Producers behind the very first Fashion in Gaming Awards, about why fashion in games matters, what makes this the right time, and how this space could reshape both industries.

🌟 Where It All Began

The idea for the Awards didn’t come out of thin air. Tracy and Fija were already deep in the world of digital style through their reporting platform Game-Changing Style. The more they researched, the more they noticed something missing: no recognition anywhere for the people designing skins, outfits, and character looks.

📢 “Nowhere in popular game award shows was there even a category highlighting the importance of clothing and character design within gaming – which is why we took it upon ourselves to create the Fashion in Gaming Awards.”

🦊 Kiki: They’re spot on. Skins and outfits have been the silent backbone of gaming culture forever — and yet no awards show gave them a seat at the table. Even the Oscars have a Best Costume Design category. Gaming? Nothing.

⏰ Why Now?

Timing is everything. In the early 2000s, gaming was still considered niche. Fast forward to today: 3.3 billion people game worldwide — nearly two out of every five humans. At the same time, the fashion industry is in a reckoning over oversaturation and sustainability.

The rise of digital fashion during COVID proved that people will happily buy and show off virtual clothing, and that this path could be far more sustainable than fast fashion.

📢 “Gaming is the natural next step for the fashion industry, with big players like Balenciaga and Gucci already making their marks within the space. We at the Fashion in Gaming Awards feel it’s only a matter of time before we see big name designers coming out of gaming, and vice versa.”

🦊 Kiki: Translation? Gucci’s already in Fortnite, your grandma’s already in Candy Crush, and unlike fast fashion, virtual clothes don’t choke the planet. If this isn’t the moment, there won’t be one.

🎯 The Mission

For Tracy and Fija, the Awards are about more than trophies — they’re about recognition and shifting conversations.

📢 “Our mission is to shine a spotlight on the talent and imagination it takes to create the fashion–forward character or skin designs we know and love today.”

They also want to show fashion creatives that gaming isn’t a side hustle — it’s a legitimate frontier for designers, marketers, and storytellers.

📢 “Our goal is to push the conversation forward on how clothing in gaming can be enhanced by the inclusion of traditional designers, and how marketing can evolve through collaboration with video game developers and, most importantly, character designers.”

🦊 Kiki: Preach. Fashion isn’t “extra.” It’s core. Take the outfits out of Final Fantasy or Assassin’s Creed and see if anyone still calls those games iconic. Didn’t think so.

👕 Why Fashion Resonates in Games

Fashion works in games for the same reason it does in real life: self-expression. But in gaming, that expression is amplified. Whether you’re building a Sim, rolling a new Dragon Age protagonist, or raiding in Elder Scrolls Online, how your avatar looks is how you present yourself to others.

📢 “Clothing, outfits, and skins shape not only how you see yourself in-game but also how you want to be seen by the community.”

For designers, games offer a platform traditional fashion never could.

📢 “In fashion education, we’re taught that a collection should have an ideal customer — a character you design clothing for. Gaming worlds give us new ways to explore setting, technique, and storytelling. They’re the perfect platform for fashion storytelling: a space where people express themselves, convey ideas, and still aim to be the best dressed in attendance.”

🦊 Kiki: Exactly. Nobody brags about their DPS without first flexing their outfit. Stats make you strong. Style makes you unforgettable.

🏆 The Categories

The Awards are also redefining what “fashion excellence” means in games. Some highlights:

Best Indie Fashion Game — spotlighting smaller studios innovating with style.
Designer of the Year — celebrating digital creators at the top of their craft.
Outstanding Character Design by a Woman — presented with Women in Games , pushing visibility in a field where men still dominate.
Most Promising Designer — with Digital Fashion Week, highlighting rising digital fashion talent.
Best Cultural Representation — honoring authentic, inclusive clothing and accessories for diverse characters.

Nominations are public and open to all (self-noms included, no fees). Once entries close, the top five per category are vetted for merit by a jury. Final winners are chosen by an independent panel of professionals.

🦊 Kiki: Open nominations are the power move here. No velvet ropes, no “only insiders win.” If your design slaps, it gets its shot.

💡 The Industry Impact

The digital fashion and skins market is projected to hit billions. Roblox and Epic Games Fortnite already overflow with brand collabs, influencer tie-ins, and branded cosmetics.

📢 “We envision deeper footprints: in-house digital fashion teams, limited gamified drops, and long-term partnerships with developers to co-create IP. But for these to succeed, they have to respect gaming culture. Players can tell when corners are skipped or research ignored, and they’ll reject collaborations that don’t feel true to their world. Authenticity will always remain the most important factor.”

🦊 Kiki: Couldn’t agree more. Slap a logo on a hoodie and call it a day? Players will roast you alive. Build something that respects the lore? Players will rock it forever.

🎮 When Fashion Works

Two examples stand out:

BALENCIAGA’s Afterworld (2020): More than an ad, it was an interactive Unreal Engine world designed around a collection. Fashion became environment, story, and vibe.
Dead by Daylight x DOMREBEL Montréal (2024): Instead of slapping merch on characters, Behaviour Interactive worked with a Montreal art collective to expand character backstories through edgy, fashion-forward skins.

📢 “That kind of integration — aligning with story and aesthetic — really shows how much room fashion has to thrive in the gaming realm.”

🦊 Kiki: That’s the formula. Fashion in games works when it feels like world-building, not marketing. Otherwise, it’s just clutter in the store menu.

🔮 Looking Ahead

Tracy and Fija want the Awards to grow into a staple event for both industries, cementing fashion and character design as a critical part of game creation.

📢 “We really believe this is the future of fashion. With conversations about sustainability, affordability, and accessibility, gaming feels like the natural path. As gaming becomes more mainstream — in education, in socializing — fashion will remain integral. Gaming is evolving into the newest edition of social media, and the hype around clothing IRL is already bleeding into skins, accessories, and cosmetics.”

🦊 Kiki: They’re right. Yesterday’s runway shows ended up in Vogue. Tomorrow’s? They’ll end up in your character inventory.

💌 A Personal Note

For Fija, gaming fashion has shaped her taste for years. She loved the historical outfits in Amnesia: The Dark Descent, admired the detailed wardrobes of the Assassin’s Creed series, and still treasures the colorful fantasy layers of Wizard101 (2008).

📢 “There’s something about those layered, brightly colored fantasy outfits that still seeps into my personal taste, style, and designs today!”

🦊 Kiki: And that’s the magic. The clothes we wear in games don’t just stay on-screen. They imprint themselves on us — shaping our style, our memories, and sometimes even our real-world wardrobes.

🍪 Last Bite

As the THE FASHION IN GAMING AWARDS Produced by Game-Changing Style take shape, one thing is clear: fashion isn’t just about pixels or polygons — it’s about identity, memory, and culture. Tracy and Fija are giving designers the recognition they’ve always deserved, and gamers the runway they’ve always walked on without realizing it.