The comfort of pixels
Let me just unlock some core childhood memories.
The first computer I remember my family owning was an internet-less box in the 90s with only two games. Commander Keen: Goodbye Galaxy, which followed the adventures of a little space boy in a pink shirt and yellow helmet bouncing around on a pogo stick, and Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure: Forbidden Planet, where you collected fruit as a green alien with suction cups for hands who was trying to find his parents. I also got to play Ski Free on my aunt’s OG colorful iMac, which to this day remains the closest I have come to any winter sports.
One of the good things about the internet is its ability to unlock childhood memories with just a few clicks. These games still exist on Reload, which I revisited as I was writing this piece, reveling in the nostalgia of their low-fi graphics.
Keen and Cosmo were eventually upgraded to Neopets and Dollzmania (the ultimate Y2K styling game) when my sister and I would go into our mum’s office as we didn’t get internet access at home until our teens.
As previously written, tech is experiencing a regression. Lo-res is being favored over the uncanny valley-ness of AI imagery. Additionally, there is the boom of cozy gaming, offering a soothing form of online escapism in comparison to the chaotic noise of social media. Death To Stock has stated that researchers in 2021 found that 20 minutes of cozy gaming had the same effects as meditating for the same amount of time, attributing this to their simple tasks, mellow music and colorful aesthetics. Many of these games avoid hyperrealism and favor a retro pixelated style, tapping into the comfort of digital nostalgia.
Now, I’m not a gamer by any stretch. However, I have had my own experience with cozy gaming, which is why I wanted to write this piece. Last year, I read Marlen Haushofer’s The Wall, which is about a woman who, for unexplained reasons, is trapped in a valley in the German countryside by an invisible forcefield. This requires her to live off the land with a dog, a cow, and a bunch of stray cats. Despite being a tale of survival and isolation, I couldn’t help but think the situation was kinda idyllic. In one of those weird instances where you feel like algorithm daddy is listening to your private thoughts, I was targeted with an ad for a game that let me play out this fantasy sans dystopian wall.
Enter Japanese Rural Life Adventure - a sweet pixelated single-player game that simulates slow living in the Japanese countryside with a few nods to Studi Ghibli. You grow vegetables, pound mochi, raise a dog, a cat, and some koi, and do little deeds to help your little pixelated community. The graphics are just unbearably charming - cherry blossoms in the spring and a view of Mount Fuji. It became my go-to for relaxation. So much so that in one of the recent updates, they released a global leaderboard. I found I was in the top 1% of players and had to question exactly what I was doing in my life.
After becoming a Japanese Rural Life Adventure savant, I’ve sought out pixels across other mediums. Hakusi Katei, aka Monoli, created a crystal that reduces the resolution of what’s behind it regardless of distance and movement, making IRL objects pixelated. The artist Fatbeard creates digital pixel art of Japanese landscapes that wouldn’t look out of place in my beloved game.
Then, in an interesting example of art imitating life, I keep getting targeted ads for therapy or procrastination apps using cute 8-bit graphics in their marketing. Examples include Chillio, Habitica, Focus Hero, and Finch, the latter of which is described as a “self-care Tamagotchi.” I haven’t tried any of these, so I can’t endorse them, but I find it fascinating that self-help is being gamefied.
Then, of course, we get to fashion, as this is a fashion newsletter. Over the years, we’ve seen the worlds of gaming and fashion intersect. From the now-fizzled-out Metaverse hype to Balenciaga’s use of virtual avatars in Spring 2021. Childhood nostalgia is a valuable currency within fashion, and these glitchy graphics stir emotions in a way that AI can’t. Here are just some of the ways fashion has incorporated pixels over the years…
Basso & Brooke FW07
I was reminded of this collection flicking through a book that my sister gave me for my birthday before I was about to go study fashion - 100 New Fashion Designers by Hywell Davis. I was curious to revisit the now household names that were considered new when it was published nearly 20 years ago. Basso & Brooke have seemed to have dropped off the commercial fashion radar, though were digital print pioneers. The Fall 2007 collection included eye-watering pixelated prints across a turtleneck top and silk bubble-hem mini dress.
Anrealage FW11
Kunihiko Morinaga took inspiration from 8-bit textures for stitching and colorful patterns to expertly blur the lines between digital and physical. The collection, which features tetris-like blocks to create floral and camo prints, was probably on Pharell’s mood board for his Louis Vuitton debut. Minecraft and Lego are also heavily referenced through a block-like structured dress and heel silhouettes.
Jil Sander Navy Spring 2016
Under Rodolfo Paglialunga’s tenure, the diffusion line mashed up Henri Matisse and PacMan for a youthful and vibrantly-colored collection. Multi-colored pixelated prints were used for tops and skirts, clashing with stripes and florals.
Raxxy 2021-22
The luxury down jacket brand designed by Christopher Raxxy is a master of innovating with quilting to build futuristic silhouettes and patterns. In 2021 and 2022, the brand used this technique to create pixelated daisy patterns and a rendering of The Great Wall of China on puffers.
Loewe Spring 2023
A collection that certainly needs no introduction and will go down in fashion history. Jonathan Anderson’s Spring 2023 runway was a masterclass in 2D art made 3D. Going beyond prints, Anderson unveiled a hoodie, trousers, and T-shirt structured with a trompe l'oeil effect to appear as if they’d been plucked straight from a video game.
Louis Vuitton Spring 2024
Coming now to Pharell’s inaugural menswear collection at LV. Pixels were used to render camo prints, scenery, and other glitchy designs across leather apparel and accessories. While the collection drew mixed reviews, the accompanying campaign featuring a pregnant Rihanna was nothing short of iconic.
The Bag Charm Blitz, 2024
Your favorite accessories favorite accessory. As kitschy keychains have evolved to become synonymous with personal style signaling, Tamagotchis have been added to the lineup. The below image comes from Sam Todd - Australia’s patron saint of purse pals.
Balenciaga Lunar New Year 2025
To celebrate the Year of the Snake, Balenciaga honed in on noughties nostalgia, releasing a portable console for its VIC clients in China with the classic Nokia game Snake, which can also be played on its website.
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Sandy Liang Fall 2025
At New York Fashion Week, Sandy Liang unlocked core girlhood memories with a deliciously Polly Pocket-esque collection. The trajectory of analog tech continued with photorealistic images of the electronic My Secret Diary printed on skirts. Unrelated - pearl Tabis omigosh.
Gaming will continue to influence fashion this year, as Pinterest spotlighted avatar aesthetics in its 2025 predictions report. Coperni plans to host a 24-hour LAN party for Paris Fashion Week, with the collection reported to pay homage to 90s gaming. This year also marks the release of A Minecraft Movie and a Roblox film, plus the 25th anniversary of The Sims, which also has a film in the works with Margot Robbie (no doubt hoping to replicate Barbie’s cultural impact).
Plenty more cozy pixelated moments to come, but until then, if you’re stuck for last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas, how cute is this 8-bit tarot card set?
What a fun round-up! I used to have a pixelated Dries Van Noten: https://sheilaephemera.blogspot.com/2018/02/casual-friday-versace-mom-jeans-and.html - that's me in 2018 (I paid $4.00 for the top!).
Really sharp writing as usual!