Both casual gamers and Roblox fanatics have found a virtual runway in “Dress to Impress.”

“Dress to Impress” is a free, online multiplayer video game where players compete in a themed runway fashion competition. The game was created on Roblox in November 2023 by Roblox user and teenager Gigi, who is known solely by the mononymous name.

Themes in the game have included ancient civilization, aquatic, back-to-school, birthday, celebrity, clean girl aesthetic, cottagecore, mall goth, pastel goth and Harajuku. Once the theme for the round is announced, players have five minutes to browse the clothing, makeup, jewelry and other accessories found in the different dressing rooms to customize their avatar in preparation for a runway show, where each player then judges and ranks each other’s outfits. Although servers have a maximum player count of 13 –– which can comprise a group of friends who all join the same server together, players from across the globe or a combination of the two –– only one player is crowned the “Top Model” for that round.

Roblox users can purchase Robux, a digital currency that allows players to purchase avatar customizations and gaming items, special servers and VIP passes for special access to exclusive locations, items, and in the case of “Dress to Impress,” exclusive clothing items.

Roblox, a game creation system where users program and upload their games for global use, offers a diverse set of roleplay game options. A signature quality of this diverse repertoire of games, however, is the block-style animation of the game characters. “Dress to Impress” utilizes more complex animation for its characters than other Roblox games and offers players a more lifelike gaming universe.

“Dress to Impress” has dominated social media and gaming discourse by way of its innovative pop culture integration, intriguing worldbuilding and unique avatar customization possibilities. The game’s recent rise to fame has been elevated by its presence on TikTok, with over 150.3 million posts under the category. These videos range from parodies of real-life fashion trends on TikTok like “Outfit of the Day” videos to recorded streams by gaming creators. This trend made its way to South Hill with ICTV’s promotional TikTok for “The Gridiron Report.”

Gigi and her team have implemented pop culture entities –– from an official collaboration with Charli XCX’s “Brat” album to the viral Duolingo mascot –– into the game’s themes to satisfy its Gen Z player demographic. “Dress to Impress” has given mass media consumers a digital universe where pop culture hyperfixations come to life.

Outside of pop culture references, “Dress to Impress” has lent itself to some complex worldbuilding. Lana, a non-player character who works as a nail tech for players, has some serious lore to her backstory, from a doppelganger scheme released in April 2024 to a secret, clue-filled room –– found by players who discussed their discoveries on Reddit –– as well as a string of missing persons shown on headshot posters on a bulletin board. It seems that since the rise in popularity, “Dress to Impress” is expanding beyond hosting fashion competitions and into the realm of storytelling. With each new update to the game, players wait for new clues, or even new non-player characters, to deepen the complexity of this online world.

In addition to its contemporary references, the anonymity of Gigi serves as another element of intrigue that keeps users entertained as the game continues to dominate over other popular Roblox titles. But this anonymity has not prevented users and competing creators from trying to attack and dethrone the young creator.

We are in an age where going viral is paramount, and people have recognized Gigi as an entity of digital notoriety. She is estimated to be making $264,000 a month. Although players are enjoying the game, there is also a level of greed in the way players want to know more about the face behind the runway. The “Dress to Impress” community, and the larger Roblox community, has demonstrated investment in the game itself, but also in its mysterious creator, who has received controversial allegations of racism and fatphobia by competing Roblox creators.

While the game has always allowed users to customize their avatar’s skin color, new body type customization options were only just added for the Halloween update. The game constantly updates its Discord server, which allows Gigi and the “Dress to Impress” programming team to rapidly address user concerns and feedback.

While Roblox tends to attract a younger audience with its free and convenient accessibility on any Mac or PC –– 42.3% of users are under the age of 13 –– “Dress to Impress” has targeted Gen Z users with its pop culture integration and attention to fashion trends. This runway game may be increasing the age demographic of Roblox, especially given recent lawsuits over a lack of censorship or parental warnings for violent or inappropriate content.

“Dress to Impress” represents not only the versatility and capacity of Roblox as a gaming platform, but also exemplifies all that is great about pop culture right now. This gaming empire gave a teenage girl the platform to build a legacy in the fashion gaming community. Players have the opportunity to find their favorite pop culture references embedded into the themes and avatar customizations, as well as discover bizarre but intriguing storylines and backstories that demonstrate narrative depth not evident in most fashion-based games. With the rapid, real-time updating quality of the“Dress to Impress” game model, there is no telling what contemporary references will show up in the next update, or if clothing brands will start to capitalize on an evolving, innovative marketing platform with product integration.

Prominence on TikTok is the solidifying factor distinguishing between online trends that are sustainable, durable phenomenons and trends that are nothing more than fleeting moments. “Dress to Impress” –– which didn’t start trending until months after its inception –– may have found the formula for sustainable popularity: a balance between original storytelling and contemporary references, all tied up in a fashionable bow.