In an alternate universe, the Met Gala happened this week. The hottest and wealthiest people on the planet dressed up in the hottest and priciest clothes on the planet. Then, they descended upon New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they mingled and sipped champagne. It was a sea of leather lapels and unmistakable red soles.
Of course, this year’s Met Gala never happened. Due to concerns surrounding the covid-19 pandemic, Anna Wintour’s annual star-studded event was postponed—indefinitely. But this is the fashion industry we’re talking about. Fashion, like life, always finds a way. It just took a different—and unexpected—route there, via Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Yes, as Elle reported, some of the world’s preeminent fashion designers recently started exhibiting looks in Nintendo’s twisted adaptation of Animal Farm. And these aren’t just everyday labels, we’re talking about some of the mavens of New York Fashion Week: Sandy Liang, Maison Valentino, even Marc freakin’ Jacobs. Best of all, you can even add some of this sumptuous couture to your own New Horizons wardrobe.
Liang’s looks are, unfortunately, off the table. Her designs were only available during a brief pop-up that, according to Elle, was described as “harder to get into than a Supreme drop.” (For the uninitiated, Supreme is the massively popular streetwear brand whose new releases summon hours-long lines of people at their SoHo flagship.) But you’re not entirely out of luck—so long as you’ve unlocked the Mabel Sisters clothing shop.
Maison Valentino mocked up a large selection of couture, and even teamed up with Kara Chung, the visual artist behind Animal Crossing Fashion Archive, to put on a bona fide fashion shoot. Codes for individual designs are available, but you’ll have to thumb your way through one of Valentino’s Instagram Stories to find codes. (Spoiler: It’s the one labeled “Animal Crossing.”)
Marc Jacobs, meanwhile, recreated six items from their famously colorful collection. Given the brand’s illustrious history with pastel pop, such a crossover is only natural. The download codes are currently available on the brand’s Instagram Stories, but you can also snag them from a straightforward Instagram post:
Once you have codes in-hand, dressing up your villager in fancy digs is a breeze. Unlike, say, downloading literal museum-worthy art, you don’t even need to use the onerous Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app.
FIrst, boot up Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Head to the Mabel Sisters store and go to the kiosk in the rear. From there, search by design ID, type in the code, and save the design. This should boot up your in-game Nook Phone’s Custom Designs app. Just select an unused slot, confirm the download, and voila! You’re the proud owner of some sweet couture.
Official designs aren’t the only way to dress up in fancy threads, though. There are plenty of fanmade Animal Crossing designers, though few beat the Instagram account Nook Street Market. Run by a trio of enterprising, creative New Yorkers, NSM recreates high-end designs as New Horizons threads—and yes, they offer codes. If you can think of a couture brand, chances are, NSM has whipped up some sort of design. Thom Browne NY? Check. Chanel? Check. YSL, Gucci, Viktor & Rolf? Check, check, and check. The Burberry check? You bet.
We might’ve missed the Met Gala this year, but who knows, maybe this surge of New Horizons fashion will inspire a new theme at next year’s Gala: Animal Crossing.