Explores the evolution of fashion in video games from the origin of Mario to recent partnerships by luxury brands to create in-game skins.

Did you know that Mario's iconic overall look was born out of necessity due to the limitations of 8-bit animation? Link, the hero of 1986's Legend of Zelda, utilized a Peter Pan-esque design to add a sense of familiarity for those who had grown up with the Walt Disney film, while Halo's choice to cover the faces of all its characters with helmets and tactical gear in 2001 gave players an easy time projecting themselves into the game. As gaming has grown, so has the importance of its fashion.

Skins in the Game explores fashion's evolution in gaming, tracing its history from the inception of the first avatar to the pivotal moment when video games became fashion influencers and the obstacles and challenges along the way. Tracy Greenan and Fija Dahlia investigate how gaming aesthetics have been influenced by art, literature, and film, scrutinize their successes and failures, and deconstruct the complex narrative of character design and historical sexism throughout the industry. They also feature exclusive interviews with top creative minds in costume, game, and character design to untangle major distinctions between the physical and digital clothing worlds and illuminate how brands utilize these differences.

By looking at how community and fandom play crucial roles in shaping gaming fashion, the authors further reveal the importance of these in-game connections for growing and sustaining a game's momentum, legacy, and style. Ultimately, Skins in the Game offers invaluable insights, fascinating data, thought-provoking interviews, and an avalanche of helpful imagery and practical pointers to ignite the imagination of fashion and videogame fans alike. Readers will discover this ever-evolving landscape, where fashion and technology spectacularly merge.

Tracy Greenan is a Northern Irish/Filipino-Canadian fashion-tech and gaming entrepreneur based in New York and Costa del Sol, Spain. She built A.U.R.A., a fashion-in-gaming brand, and co-created the Fashion in Gaming Awards, an event celebrating fashion across the gaming spectrum. Her non-profit, Gamers over Guns, is a rehabilitation program that leverages gamification to teach financial literacy to at-risk adults as an alternative to incarceration or house arrest. She serves on the advisory boards of Digital Fashion Week and the Smart Fashion Council and is a member of the United Nations Fashion & Lifestyle Network and the Retail AI Council.

Fija Dahlia is an American-Lithuanian writer, fashion designer, and illustrator currently based in the Netherlands. As co-founder of Game-Changing Style and the Fashion in Gaming Awards, Dahlia helps define the celebration and documentation of style across the gaming spectrum, alongside collaborating with Gamers Over Guns as a curriculum developer and board advisor. Parsons-trained, Fija has spent years expanding her practice from fashion to gaming to design, researching and writing about online culture and digital media.