by Jin Lovelace, HSM team writer & filmmaker

This is a quiet tale not many would have thought about recently.

One of Home’s prominent developers, VEEMEE, has quietly released quite an impressive assembly of fashionable virtual goods for us over the years. They’re truly responsible for such brands as Element and the more popular Billabong clothing. What most know is that it takes a certain type of talent to recreate these real-world commodities as virtual items accurately, compared to the more inspired fanciful ensembles that you see currently in stores. Basically, careful attention has to be paid for acute quality assurance that these items would appease the aesthetics of the Home fashion scene.

A couple of years back, Sony announced its halt on a few virtual goods that brought attention to many that I believed didn’t care at first until the items were announced that they were leaving the stores. Some of the items include the first wave of Adidas line (featuring some of the nicest track suits next to Lockwood’s fine catalog) and Home’s first real-world fashion brand, Diesel. 

From the latest–and final–Home catalog.

The clothing, when first introduced, caught a bit of fire for releasing the items with a then-astounding $1.99 price tag on every article available. Some argue that the parcels weren’t “that” aesthetically appetizing enough to cash in; others ran with it and made the fashions work. I was one of the few that enjoyed all of their clothing and went on to purchase most of them to add to my wardrobe. In fact, the strangest thing about these fashions were its stigma that it the brand came with that later passed on down to some of the more expensive clothing on Home: donning these fashions would make you seem stuck up. 

(At the time, as much of Home’s content was first-party, it was not generally understood that third-party content needs to charge, at minimum, a thirty-percent premium just to cover SCEA/SCEE fees. Add another party into the mix, as is the case with real-world brands, and you now have a three-way revenue split. This inflation adds up, and is completely understandable.)

Regardless of this, many expressed an outcry on Diesel’s demise in Home and attempted to eat up everything available, right down to the last drop. It was a shame to see this brand leave after it paved the road to introduce the aforementioned two brands to the Home fashion scene — and, later, become some of the top-selling clothing available.

As is usually the case with Home, a larger IP is developed in Home itself under contract by a known Home developer (sometimes with or without public disclosure of such development). Diesel is one example.

Another that I personally inquired about, and I felt had solid potential, was Home’s third real-world brand: Wrangler. 

From its humble beginnings, Wrangler just didn’t necessarily “wow” the Home audience. The clothing was geared towards a certain style, and not everyone felt it suited them; the typical glamorous designs that everyone is used to, made by the prominent developers, are more easily assimilated by those looking to flaunt a luxurious appearance. Wrangler’s catalog, by contrast, mostly consists of denims, shorts, long tees, and tanks, with a few leather jackets thrown into the mix.

While some of the clothing appeal to the mature crowd that gets Home and the fashion spectrum, most desire the glamour and glitz; you won’t find any form of skirts available, the exception being the lone mid-length denim skirt.

And it isn’t to say that the brand isn’t flawless on their wear at all times. There are quite a few inaccurate designs that are harder to accept, subtracting from the quality that the actual brand represents. There are arguments on how the Molly Jeans aren’t friendly to heels in Home, which is –to me — just dumb. But if the matter is on aesthetics and accessibility, then Wrangler is possibly nearer to the bottom of the barrel of the Home fashion spectrum. And that’s a shame.

So my reasoning for this article?

Well, my curiosity killed the cat when I inquired to VEEMEE recently on the sudden quiet halt of Wrangler goods, with the following quote coming from the source mentioned:

“Unfortunately VEEMEE no longer produce content for Wrangler but we are continuing to work with our brand partners Billabong and Element.”

Does it come as a shock to you? It was, frankly, a bit surprising for me.

However, it’s evident that VEEMEE’s focus on the top-tier brands, Billabong and Element (among others under their fashion catalog), makes more sense than to pay too much attention to one of the rugged, laid-back lineups in Home. Before you come to a conclusion that this is one of the “signs” that Home’s demise is drawing near, this isn’t that type of party.

What this raises, however, is some speculation: does this leave any more room for the developer to bring over another real-world fashion label for the Home consumers?

All I know is that while Wrangler’s production halted quietly, they are not forgotten. Though perhaps a footnote in VEEMEE’s ascendancy this year in the Home fashion scene, those who own and use Wrangler-brand virtual clothing understand its unique appeal.

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