Lacoste X Minecraft: Fashion Joining the Metaverse

 

Lacoste and Minecraft announced a unique collaboration on March 16, 2022. This partnership introduced both virtual and tangible clothing into the world of Minecraft. Clothing branded with Minecraft and featuring Minecraft images was available for purchase at Lacoste locations. Clothing for the characters could be purchased in the Minecraft games. In addition, Lacoste has sponsored an entire island in Minecraft.

The physical products within this collaboration include: 

• Shirts
• Hoodies
• Pants
• Shoes
• Accessories
  • Waist Bag
  • Backpack
  • Shoulder Bag

The virtual aspects of this collaboration include: 

• A new map within Minecraft called Croco Island
• Skins that look similar to the physical apparel 

Lacoste

The Beginning of Lacoste

Lacoste is a French apparel manufacturer that was established in 1933. Renè Lacoste, a professional tennis player who collaborated with André Gillier, started the company. Renè was the world's best player from 1926 to 1927, winning seven Grand Slam titles. This enabled him to forge a new path for himself. Renè was dubbed "the crocodile" by the American press, which led to his sewing a crocodile onto the jackets he wore to his matches, giving birth to the Lacoste insignia. He was creative in the products he created for his company. He invented flexible, lightweight polo shirts for tennis players to wear during matches, and he patented a shock absorber that could be put between the strings of tennis rackets. These goods demonstrated his love of tennis as well as his ability to invent.

Lacoste’s Products

Lacoste’s products include: 

• Clothing
  • Polos
  • T-shirts & Tops
  • Activewear
  • Sweaters & Sweatshirts
  • Button Down Shirts
  • Jackets & Coats
  • Matching Sets
  • Sweatpants & Trousers
  • Shorts & Swim
  • Loungewear & Pajamas
  • Socks & Underwear
• Shoes
  • Sneakers
  • Slides
  • Performance 
• Accessories
  • Watches
  • Sunglasses
  • Caps & Hats
  • Scarves & Gloves
  • Masks
• Bags and Leather Goods
• Bags
• Small Leather Goods
• Belts
• Phone Cases

Some of Lacoste’s Milestones

• In the 1950s, Lacoste began to ship their clothing worldwide
• In 1968, Lacoste began to make and sell fragrances
• In 1971, Lacoste became the official sponsor of the very important tennis stadium in Paris, Roland-Garros
• In 1978, Lacoste continued to develop their accessories selection and launched an eyewear collection. 
• In 1981, Lacoste entered the leather goods market. They uphold French leather traditions.
• In 1991, the brand launched shoes.
• In 1994, they launched watches.
• In 2012, Lacoste was acquired by Maus Frères SA which is a family-run business in Geneva.

Currently, Lacoste has stores throughout 98 countries.

Lacoste Foundation

"The Lacoste Foundation assists impoverished young people and people with disabilities with their social and professional integration" (source). The Fondation de France has funded the charity since its inception in 2006. The foundation's activity includes financial support for athletic and academic programs, spiritual support by assisting partner organizations, and skill mentorship to assist young people in finding fulfillment. The foundation's activities have aided over 100,000 people. Visit the Lacoste Foundation's website to learn more about their work.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a video game in which users can design and construct in a virtual world. Although Minecraft is officially a game, many people regard it as an experience because there are so many different things to do within it. Markus Persson created the game, which was launched in November 2011 by Mojang Studios. To play the game, you must make a one-time purchase, however there are further add-ons available for purchase within the game. Minecraft is compatible with PCs, Macs, Xboxes, iPhones, iPads, Playstations, Nintendo Switches, VR headsets, and Android devices. The cost of the game varies depending on the device. Minecraft's appearance is quite unique nowadays because it is built with Pixel art, giving it a more vintage vibe.

How To Play Minecraft

There are four game modes in Minecraft: creative, survival, adventure, and spectator. Create is the game's low-stakes, more casual variation. Players are supplied with food and do not need to go out in search of it. The main goal of the creative mode is to build whatever you want and freely explore the planet. Many gamers recreate real-life buildings and artifacts, as well as those from fictional/fantasy worlds.

Survival mode, on the other hand, features a little more action. To construct items like buildings, the players must gather their own supplies. These supplies can be found by dismantling objects made of various materials around the world. In this mode, participants also have a health meter that measures their health. They must eat in order to survive, thus they must also find their own food. Furthermore, the game transitions from day to night, with zombies and other creatures appearing at night. Creepers and zombies are two hazardous entities in the game; players must build houses or other defenses to avoid being attacked by these creatures.

The user then navigates maps created by other players in adventure mode. These maps can be utilized in a variety of ways, for example, some can be deadly environments in which you must try to survive.

Finally, in spectator mode, players can visit the maps of other players without engaging or interacting in any way. The owner of the map will be unaware of any visitors, and all the player may do is observe and/or examine the things.

Minecraft Add-ons

In addition to paying the game to play, you may purchase a variety of virtual products and features within the Minecraft world. Skins, maps, and texture packs are examples of such items/features. Skins are specific characters that you can buy. You buy them based on how you want your character to look; they may have different traits and clothes. Maps are built worlds within Minecraft, and they are frequently produced by other users. Texture packs alter the appearance of Minecraft blocks, so everything in the game, including building materials, items, creatures, and so on, will have a specific aesthetic if you acquire the pack.

Minecraft and Lacoste Add-ons

The Minecraft and Lacoste cooperation provided skins and a map with a Lacoste twist. Thirty skins were provided, and they were all dressed in Lacoste-branded clothing with the trademark crocodile on the shirts, and some were holding tennis racquets. Croco Island, a map that contained a massive crocodile created within the planet, was also released. Tennis courts, a parkour course, a Lacoste store, a "fill the gaps" minigame, and a scavenger hunt were all included in the map.

Minecraft’s Success

Minecraft had had sold over one million copies by January 2012. This was a large figure at the time because there was little promotion and marketing for video games, therefore its success was primarily due to word of mouth. Minecraft has 100 million users by 2014. Markus Persson sold Minecraft to Microsoft for $2.5 billion in cash later that year.

The Innovative Collaboration Between Minecraft and Lacoste

Minecraft and Lacoste's collaboration was highly original, strategic, and savvy. A well-known fashion brand collaborated with a well-known video game to expand both companies' consumer bases. This partnership combined the virtual and physical worlds, resulting in very assuming and popular products in both. Lacoste and Minecraft are very different brands with very different audiences, which is why this cooperation was so effective.

Exploring The Profits Within The Virtual World

Because of how swiftly the metaverse has evolved and acquired appeal, fashion businesses are experimenting with it. There are many potential prospects in the Metaverse, but because it is such a novel concept, businesses are hesitant to go in. The Metaverse has recently become quite profitable, and there are many investment opportunities within virtual worlds; but, because it is new, it is difficult to foresee how solid and trustworthy these investments can be. This is especially true given that it is a virtual investment with no tangible product or object attached to it. Collaboration with video games such as Minecraft is an excellent way for businesses to become acquainted with how virtual worlds operate.

Capitalization on Demographic Differences

Lacoste is a high-end apparel manufacturer that caters to two of the world's most refined sports, tennis and golf. Minecraft, on the other hand, is a game that appeals to children yet is familiar to the vast majority of the world. Whether people play the game themselves, have children, friends, or family who do, or have only heard about it, it is difficult to be unaware of Minecraft.

This demographic variation is a wise investment for Lacoste and Minecraft. Both can reach out to new people who may become interested in both. Lacoste can target a younger audience, particularly those who will remember the brand and bring it revenue in the long run as they grow. Minecraft can appeal to a more affluent demographic, which may spend more money in the game on numerous add-ons.

Finally, having both virtual and tangible products available is a sensible move because many players will be eager to purchase items within the game, but they will also desire Minecraft merch. Players that are major fans of the game frequently want to demonstrate their support through their clothing, much like many individuals do for their favorite movies, artists, and sports teams!

Final Thoughts: An Intelligent and Experimental Collaboration That Showed Great Success by Lacoste and Minecraft

Overall, this experimental partnership was a huge success, capturing the attention of people all around the world. With the growing number of cooperation between the gaming and fashion worlds, fashion brands may soon begin to enter the Metaverse industry. Video games have repeatedly shown to be a very profitable sector, which will encourage more and more surprising collaborations between real shop corporations and virtual world/video game companies.