H&M DEBUTS A VIRTUAL ALL VEGAN COLLECTION AND FASHION SHOW IN ANIMAL CROSSING
Following the successful launch of H&M Looop Island on popular Nintendo game Animal Crossing: New Horizons, H&M is launching a virtual fashion collection – and the focus is on its vegan credentials. Comprising selected pieces of womenswear and menswear from the forthcoming Innovation ‘Co-Exist Story’, an animal-friendly fashion collection that is entirely PETA-approved, the virtual fashion pieces will launch alongside an in-game update to Looop Island, transforming it into a vegan-friendly destination for gamers. H&M’s first virtual fashion show in Animal Crossing will be held to unveil the virtual styles, with Pascal Brun, H&M’s Global Sustainability Manager, in attendance, and the female gamer BrookeAB modelling alongside other gaming influencers. The virtual collection and re-designed vegan island will launch on Animal Crossing on November 2.
Eleven pieces from the ‘Co-Exist Story’ collection have been recreated in virtual form and will be showcased in the in-game fashion show. The key pieces include a one-size-up puffer jacket, a neon-green furry chain-link scarf, an orange mini dress with cut-out details, a leather-look sleeveless blazer, and a slogan sweatshirt. The virtual pieces will be presented at H&M’s showroom on Looop Island, accessible via a Dream code, where the catwalk show will also take place. Gamers will be able to download the virtual clothing designs at the Able Sisters Shop.
The remodelled Looop Island will reflect the vegan values of the ‘Co-Exist Story’ collection, reconfigured as an animal sanctuary within Animal Crossing, with a ban on fishing and hunting, a new wildflower meadow, as well as vegan food on offer at the island restaurant. While all the villagers in Animal Crossing are animals, Looop Island will be exclusively inhabited by animals that were not harmed in the making of the ‘Co-Exist Story’ collection, such as geese, ducks and cows, mirroring the vegan principles of the project.
“At H&M, we are always pioneering new ways to engage our customers and fans with our ambitious sustainability initiatives. Hosting our first fashion show in Animal Crossing to showcase our vegan ‘Co-Exist Story’ collection is the logical next step to our Looop Island concept, which was conceived to encourage our customers to reuse, remake and recycle unwanted garments,”
Pascal Brun, Global Sustainability Manager at H&M.
About H&M and Animal Crossing
H&M debuted Looop Island in Nintendo’s popular game Animal Crossing: New Horizons in April 2021. Characterised by a sustainable theme, Looop Island is named after H&M’s garment recycling machine, which takes old clothes and recycles them into new ones.
For more information and background around the campaign, including additional imagery and products, please source H&M Magazine