Epic Games, the developer of Unreal Engine and hit game Fortnite, has made a strategic move into the fashion industry through its recent investment in CLO Virtual Fashion, a provider of digital garment solutions.
The game developer and CLO announced that they purchased shares in each other, without providing the financial terms of the transaction.
The deal follows major labels’ investment in the digital fashion space and the metaverse.
Warner Music Group in December announced a “first-of-its-kind partnership” with digital fashion retailer DRESSX, allowing its artists to design their own virtual fashion lines.
In late September, WMG also partnered with NFT marketplace OpenSea, letting artists build and extend their fan communities in Web3.
Universal Music Group, meanwhile, announced in late 2021 that it will develop “virtual identities” and NFTs for its artists in partnership with avatar tech firm Genies. That follows a deal with Genies in April 2021.
CLO, founded in 2009, provides an ecosystem of products that encompass 3D garment design software, a digital CMS and collaboration platform, and an open marketplace where a community of creators trades and showcases thousands of true-to-life garment designs.
The company says it aims to make integrated workflows more easily accessible to 3D designers, character artists, animators, and fashion professionals alike. This way, games and metaverse platforms will be able to feature true-to-life clothing options, maximizing the value of digital garments in the industry.
“We strongly believe that digital garments will play a significant role in the future of digital entertainment and metaverse platforms,” said Simon Kim, CEO of CLO Virtual Fashion.
“We are building toward a future where we imagine the digitization of everything, the convergence of fashion with entertainment and the metaverse. Our visions are aligned and we are committed to building the future that we envision.”
Simon Kim, CLO Virtual Fashion
“We are building toward a future where we imagine the digitization of everything, the convergence of fashion with entertainment and the metaverse. Our visions are aligned and we are committed to building the future that we envision.”
The partnership between Epic and CLO is expected to create new possibilities for designers across various sectors to bring lifelike digital fashion garments to life.
Kim Libreri, Chief Technology Officer at Epic Games, said: “Bringing high-quality digital fashion into real-time virtual worlds is complex and can be a creative barrier for digital fashion creators. It is exciting to see how CLO Virtual Fashion’s solutions work with Unreal Engine to help designers across industries make life-like digital fashion garments.”
CLO’s Kim added: “Our clients are already trying to maximize the utility of digital garments, and we will work to cater to those requests and roadmaps.”
“We believe these investments will unleash the fullest value of each and every digital garment and creator around the world, and we are extremely happy to share this goal with Epic Games.”
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