Stefano Rosso’s latest collaboration, as part of his lifestyle gaming platform D-Cave, is a match made in gamer heaven. Rosso — whose family firm OTB group which owns brands including Marni, Diesel, and Maison Margiela — is working in partnership with leading gaming brand Razer and eyewear label Retrosuperfuture to launch an exclusive model of sunglasses, dubbed “Razersuperfuture”.
Retrosuperfuture’s foray into the gaming scene is a natural extension of its brand positioning at the forefront of the contemporary streetwear market, the press release for the launch reads.
Featuring a mask-like silhouette, wide lenses, and a chunky acetate rim, Retrosuperfuture developed the eyewear design to complement gamers’ lifestyles, while remaining stylish to the non-digital-native eye.
Built to withstand “rigorous” gaming sessions and both indoor and outdoor lighting situations, the glasses were crafted using a photochromic lens, as well as blue light protection to survive long hours in front of the screen.
With a tagline reading “For Gamers, By Gamers” — which is also inscribed on the lens of the model — the collaboration aims to attract both Razer’s and D-Cave’s steadfast community of enthusiasts.
Pushing frontiers#
While D-Cave describes itself as a Web3 lifestyle space, this latest collaboration is a far cry from what we’ve seen in the virtual market over the past year. This drop takes neither the form of an non-fungible token (NFT) or a phygital product, and arrives as a fully physical asset.
It does, however, affirm the convergence of gaming culture and contemporary fashion. The gaming industry has struggled to find its place within the market, but with major labels like Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton now dabbling in the space, high fashion’s presence may provide fertile ground.
In this collection’s case, both Razer and Retrosuperfuture endeavored to demonstrate how the gaming attire aesthetic no longer has to be compromised for functionality.
Razer represents a new wave of gaming brands exploring urban style elements, and keeping their finger on the pulse of trends, in a bid to cater to the rising cohort of fashion-conscious gamers.
“Razer is no stranger to the fashion scene, having collaborated with renowned fashion and lifestyle brands as well as launched our own line of apparels,” Addie Tan, Associate Director of Business Development at Razer says.
The label has previously joined forces with the likes of Hello Kitty on a series of gaming chairs, keyboards, and headsets tapping female gamers — who now comprise up to 45% of the world's gaming population — as well as the booming gamer girl aesthetic, which has inundated social media platforms like TikTok (the hashtag #gamergirlaesthetic has been viewed over 8 million times on the app).
One step at a time#
As for D-Cave’s Stefano Rosso, a self-proclaimed gamer, it makes sense for the platform’s CEO to focus on catering to a community base he considers himself to be a part of.
Ever since its launch in 2020, D-Cave has been doing things differently. While traditional brands have attempted to tackle the entire Web3 landscape at once, D-Cave has favored solidifying its niche and serving a select market of gamers in the space.
Of course, this means that cracking widespread mainstream appeal is off the cards for now, but the label remains quietly confident in its abilities to withstand an increasingly saturated metaverse market.
This mentality has also provided the platform with a unique position in this new iteration of the web. And it's an area Rosso is keen to explore further through D-Cave.
“Gaming and fashion have always been our passion, and we are thrilled to curate this partnership between two top brands like Razer and Retrosuperfuture,” Rosso wrote in the collection’s press release. “We believe gaming and Web3 will change the world for the upcoming generations and our role is to be there to facilitate and enhance the best lifestyle projects for this new group of digital culture communities.”