An Interview With Dani of U Love Green
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I love U Love Green. When this fashion line appeared in Home under the Codeglue umbrella I was instantly drawn in by the simple lines and wonderful designs of the clothing, and of course I bought my fair share of it. But the most fascinating thing about this particular line of goods is that they have been created and marketed by someone who is a Home user. Her line of clothing is now called Dani, and she has some wonderful new pieces that she has created just for Home.
One of the things that we here at the magazine have always said is that one of Home’s greatest flaws is its lack of user created products. These types of things are a staple in other virtual worlds like Second Life and are one of the strong points those worlds have to maintain a user base. Though Blueprint gave us a taste of that ability by allowing us some latitude with building personal spaces to suit our fancy, when it comes to clothing, furniture or any other goods, there have been only a few instances of user based input. Dani and her U Love Green and Dani clothing lines is one of the only ones you will find in Home, and many of these pieces are available for sale in real life as well under the same labels.
I was able to ask Dani some questions about herself and how all of this came to be. So, without further ado, here is HomeStation Magazine’s interview with her.
HSM: As a graphic/web designer and artistic director, what made you decide to go into the world of real life fashion?
Dani: Like many girls I have always loved fashion. The desire to design my own clothing line one day was a dream of mine. What pushed me to go ahead with my project was the fact I couldn’t find, in my own province, a specific product I wanted for myself. I was especially looking for organic lingerie. Then I realized that these types of products were being manufactured and made available on the web to people in other countries, particularly in Europe. Being able to create and offer a new kind of product that is organic and made in my own city of Montreal, Quebec was very important to me, a top priority. I launched U Love Green at the end of 2011. It is a mostly eco-friendly line, the name speaks for itself.
HSM: What made you decide to go green with your real life line of clothing?
Dani: My personal values and also the desire to contribute locally. I think it is important to support local products and also to make choices for the environment. Plus as a consumer, many times it is a healthier choice.
HSM: Were you a participant in PlayStation Home before you started creating clothing here? If so, how long have you been in Home?
Dani: I have been in Home since the very beginning. I have been able to watch Home evolve over the past five years, and today it is an honor to be able to contribute to it and have the opportunity to share my vision with the feminine users.
The new Express Your Color line
Codeglue has developed items in Home for many years now. I remembered the classy dresses they created and released in Europe and here in NA Home a couple years ago and I really enjoyed their classy, beautiful work. While I was developing my real life line a good friend of mine in Home connected me with Codeglue’s CEO Peter de Jong. He really liked U Love Green and thought it would be a great idea to bring it into the virtual world of PlayStation Home. When we launched our first U Love Green fashions in Home May of 2012 it was a great success. After that the girls on Home kept asking us for more new clothes, and we are happy to comply. Plus Peter and I really enjoy working together and I want to thank him, his team and all of his amazing artists.
HSM: Why did you personally decide to start creating things for this virtual world of Home?
Dani: As a Home user who is also a graphic designer, to create new lines for Home was a perfect match for me. Mostly it is a pure pleasure to do it. Plus I know Home pretty well and it is really great having the ability to talk and share with the girls. Codeglue and I decided to launch in May 2013 a new “Dani collection” to meet the demands of Home’s women for more new content more often. This way we can release new items without any real life brand linked to it. This means that the Dani Collection is only available on PlayStation Home. Because it is a virtual universe, I can focus more on the creating without all the steps that real fashion takes to create. I really love being able to bring feminine and cute virtual clothing to Home’s women.
HSM: Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
Real U Love Green
Dani: It is true that I’m interested in new trends and I like to discover new real fashion lines of course. But, you used exactly the right word in your question : INSPIRATION it is the keyword of where the work starts! Most of the time, I’m inspired by an element, a color, a texture, a style or a theme, etc. After that, I let my imagination do the job. I love to create and design. I keep an an open mind with my creation process. That means that I don’t need to follow the trend of the moment to achieve something new. In addition, this is a virtual world, As such there are fewer limitations, which makes the work process even more fun. When I see all the possibilities on Home, I definitely feel free and get into the creation process.
HSM: Your designs are very simple yet elegant, how do you come up with the perfect blend of class and comfort?
Dani: I think you just gave me many nice compliments, thank you! Maybe that’s my signature.
HSM: How does it feel to be recognized in the real world of fashion as well as the virtual one?
Dani: What’s interesting here I think is that it is mostly the virtual world campaign who make U Love Green get this new nomination last week in the real Fashion World in Montreal. For a lot of people involved in the fashion market, the virtual world of Sony PlayStation® Home is something completely unknown and new for them. They mostly have no idea that a Fashion virtual market exist into the video games. It is a fact, all around the world, that there is only few real lines that have showed up in the virtual boutiques of Home. U Love Green is really proud to be a part of it, alongside of the international brands like Adidas, Diesel and Billabong. What an honor!
Home’s version
HSM: Tell us more about the contest you are involved in with your real life fashions in Montreal, the Prix Mode Mtl, what is it exactly?
Dani: The organization The Montréal Fashion Bureau (MFB) is mandated to promote Montreal’s fashion as well as to stimulate pride in local shopping. This year, they are presenting their first edition of the new fashion’s contest “Prix Mode Mtl”, for recognize the local Montreal’s Brands, Designers & boutiques (for the best campaigns, visibility, etc.) via the web and the medias. U Love Green was nominated, last week, in the category “Best multi-platform campaign”. From the real to the virtual world of Sony Playstation@ Home” — Worldwide. Last year, U Love Green was the winner at the Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest, in the category Commerce (Regional level, Montreal) and also finalist at the national level of the contest.
HSM: Overall, what is your goal with bringing your fashions into Home? What do you hope others will take away with them?
Dani: As long as the women on Home enjoy and like the items that Codeglue and I propose, I wish to continue to design virtual collections. I think that a lot of people appreciate this idea: the “Dani Collection” is designed by a Home woman for Home’s women! At this point, as everyone, I really hope to see Home on the new PS4 console coming at the end of this year. We are still waiting to know more about it. Let’s cross our fingers !
I want to thank Dani for her generosity in granting this interview and I hope that there are more Home users who get to do what she has done and bring their own unique products and perspectives to this virtual world we love, PlayStation Home.
To learn more about these real-world designs in Home:
www.danimtldesigner.com | www.ulovegreen.com | www.codeglue.com
July 2nd, 2013 by Burbie52 | 2 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
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Gee, that was interesting… an inside look how they started up. I like the Ladies Runway (and Men’s when someone posts) for the creativity of the clothes (not all do I like) and the scenery used. It’s fun.
Nice article.
Wonderful interview, designer, and message. I personally wish there were more Organic/local clothing lines, and hopefully with more designers pushing it like Dani is that will become a possibility.
I already love the virtual styles, but knowing what I support makes it that much more worth it! Keep doing what your doing! (Throws $$$ at monitor)