Fashion and Costume Design in Electronic Entertainment—Bridging the Gap between Character and Fashion Design

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the history of costume design in computer and video games, and to examine the representation of clothing in the medium. It attempts to establish a classification of dress by examining the most representative genres and titles, and it classifies and describes various genres with regards to costume, and their historic preoccupation with certain styles of clothing. I examine costume design in video games, i.e. what is mostly observed in period character design, science fiction character design, and some avatar design by players; I also examine fashion design in the form of contemporary or post-modern character design, as well as avatar design by players when preoccupied with the production of individual styles based on line, color, detailing and anything else outside character costume design considerations, which usually place a character in a narrative, world or era. Therefore, the article follows a trajectory starting with the exploration of costume design and moving towards the exploration of fashion design in the medium, eventually indicating ways in which video games and fashion can become mutually beneficial.