The drop is powered by superstar streamer Aydan and Andbox’s Call of Duty League team, New York Subliners.
It’s a warzone out there. But even as the projectiles fly and the shrapnel splinters, it’s good to be Aydan.
The highest-earning Call of Duty: Warzone player in the world by overall winnings, Aydan (government name Aydan Conrad) took his talents to Andbox this spring as one of the faces of New York Subliners, the tri-state esports organization’s Call of Duty League team.
Well, his talents and his 2.3 million followers on Twitch and 658,000 on Twitter.
A gaming personality with such a powerful brand that boasts true worldwide reach ought to have a finely-honed aesthetic to match. And that’s why Andbox dropped an all-new merch collection Thursday powered by both NYSL and Aydan himself.
The collection aims to capture the imaginations of gamers and esports fans with a style that lives and breathes New York, and includes t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and even sandals and speaker tags.
And to get a better sense of just what’s available — as well as the energy and passion that went into this ambitious apparel project — Boardroom spoke with the leader of the design team that brought this collection to life: Collette Gangemi, Andbox’s Vice President of Consumer Products.
The following is our conversation with Gangemi lightly edited for clarity.
SAM DUNN: What were the key inspirations behind this collection?
COLLETTE GANGEMI: It really is all about bringing Aydan’s world to life, from his personality on-stream to the way he communicates with fans to the way he plays Call of Duty: Warzone. These are the reasons he has millions of fans, and also why we were so excited for him to join the New York Subliners here at Andbox earlier this year.
We wanted to make sure that when his fans saw this collection for the first time, it celebrates what they enjoy so much about him. We worked really closely together to create graphics that taken together create an “Aydan’s World” for the first time.
SD: Is there such a thing at the moment as “esports chic”? What’s the current state of esports aesthetics from an apparel standpoint, and what role can Andbox play in pushing things forward?
CG: We have always felt at Andbox that it’s our responsibility as the flagship esports org that represents New York, the fashion capital of the world, to move forward esports fashion quality and design and infuse the space with the attitude and personality that makes New York unique.
We will continue to use innovative designers, artists, and manufacturers to push the boundaries of what esports apparel can look like, and how it can bring out all of the different emotions our fans feel as they support their favorite players, teams, and orgs.
SD: Is the intended audience for the collection mostly gamers, or do you see opportunities that extend into other communities?
CG: Aydan has a very large, dedicated fan base. Some of that audience enjoys playing Warzone, of course, but many others watch his streams just because they love the entertainment he provides in addition to his gameplay. Our goal is to speak to each member of that audience with this collection through the variety of pieces that we developed.
One thing I would add is that with video games being more popular than ever, and with the sheer variety of games available across so many different platforms, nothing we undertake is a one-size-fits-all approach. Every collection we develop is intended to speak to different sub-sets of a massive, diverse audience that, at this point, rivals (if not exceeds) the size of the audiences of music and movies.
SD: What’s the single biggest thing that you want the public to take away from this collection?
CG: That Andbox will continue to launch collections that highlight the unique personalities of our talent, push esports design forward, and represent New York proudly on the global stage.
Just like our players’ and content creators’ personalities, no two collections of ours will ever look the same.
To get your hands on Andbox’s all-new merch, visit their official online shop here.
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