A Whole New World?

The realms of film, music and entertainment have long embraced the diverse medium that is animation and – going by its recent rash of CGI-led content and forays into gaming (yes, gaming) – fashion is raising its stakes in the scene too. The million (make that billion) dollar question: is this simply a trend or will it lead to new horizons? And what does it mean for all of us? Keng yang shuen reports.

Let me be the first to say that I’m not very well-versed in technology; Luddite might be a better term. But when researching this story, I reconsidered: Even if I knew next to nothing of the wizardry used to power the many forms and applications of animation, I am at least intimately familiar with its many end-products, which cover everything from favourite childhood cartoons and movies (the 1989 Studio Ghibli anime Kiki’s Delivery Service) to social media content such as GIFs and the computer games that I consume on a daily basis (anyone else up for some Dota 2?). What that made me realise: We’re continually surrounded by one form or another of animation, which – at its most fundamental – is the art of manipulating otherwise static figures and objects to appear as moving images.

Take one of the biggest phenomenons to emerge during the recent lockdown period, the social simulation game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Within its world, player-controlled avatars live on their own islands and – more importantly for fashion fiends – possess the ability to customise their wardrobe. Many even recreated their favourite designer looks using the game’s Photoshop-esque tool, and the feel-good effects of it all in a world starved of occasions and events to dress up for have been astounding.