Fashion brands have been getting into the world of video games, including with some early connections outfitting gaming teams in stylish hoodies and recruiting players for the front row. Partner Douglas Hand gives some thoughts on fashion's future in gaming in the below excerpt.

“The gaming companies are making boatloads of money,” said attorney Douglas Hand, founding member of Hand Baldachin Amburgey, who has worked on several fashion-gaming deals.

And for a designer brand with more cache than cash, collaborating with a game maker can be a good connection.

“Those deals tend to be very, very brand-friendly,” Hand said. “Those gaming companies are awash in cash and are willing to spend it to give their games any edge. The market is the tip of the iceberg now. It is so underdeveloped that it is really a ton of white space now.

“What’s more like a red carpet or a fantastical merchandise look book than the hyper reality of a lot of these games?” Hand said. “The first movers will get a big step forward. In the same way brick-and-mortar represents a platform for sales, but also it’s a marketing opportunity. This is one of those hybrid [situations]. The deals will just get bigger, they’ll become partnerships. You might see some of the conglomerates start their own game development.”

You can read the rest of this WWD article here: What Is Fashion Getting Out of Gaming?