This article was published on April 20, 2020

Who the heck bought the $1,900 Death Stranding jacket?


Who the heck bought the $1,900 Death Stranding jacket? Image by: Acronym

A jacket that ties into the game Death Stranding is now available for sale for a rather steep price. It’s not the price that surprises me — it’s the fact that it’s already sold out.

The jacket, which retails from $1,900, is from the cyberpunk-ish clothing brand Acronym, of which Death Stranding developer is apparently a fan. Acronym co-founder Errolson Hugh, who models the jacket on the site, made a cameo in the final game. My surprise at the price tag notwithstanding, it’s a very fine piece of fashion and comes branded with the logo of Bridges, the in-game organization dedicated to rebuilding the United States (I think — Death Stranding was kind of a mindscrew for me).

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Now this is far from the first time we’ve seen Acronym work with game developers — they helped design Adam Jensen’s wardrobe in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and I think we can all agree he looked dapper as hell. It’s also not the first time we’ve seen a swish longcoat as a game tie-in item. Remember that $8,600 replica of Dante’s jacket revealed shortly before the release of Devil May Cry V? Full disclosure: I tried to cajole my contacts with Capcom to send me one of those, but got turned down. I don’t even look good in trenchcoats, I just wanted to put its arms around me so I could pretend I was actually hugging Dante — oh come on, don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing!

Acronym’s clothes are also rather pricey in general, so it’s not the price itself that surprises me. They appear to be exceptionally well-made — they’d have to be for anyone to get away with selling drawcord MC Hammer pants for $1200. (Side note: I can’t afford them, but I’m here for the cheeky item descriptions on Acronym’s website; these particular trousers are called “Second best only to no pants at all.”)

What I want to know is, who the heck is buying a $2k jacket in this economy? The economy is not exactly booming, and I can think of a number of things I’d rather spend my money on than a jacket like this. But the jacket is sold out, so that means the

If the jacket came with the little bridge baby replica, then I might, just might understand the rush to snatch one up. But it doesn’t — BB is just there to visually tie the jacket to the game in promotional pictures. And I gotta admit, even if I did understand wanting to shell out $2k for a jacket, I’m not sure this particular jacket is the one I’d go for. Why would you want to imagine yourself in a world in which no one goes outside and most everything can only be delivered via courier? You’re already living in that world, and it sucks!

Okay, one last tilt at the windmill: we’re all having to stay inside anyway… what the heck do you even need the jacket for? Alright, now I’m done. In all seriousness, if this is what you have chosen to spend your stimulus money on, then go you.

If you do own this jacket, please feel free to tweet me pics @rachelkaser. Not because I particularly need to see the jacket — I just want everyone to have a chance to show off their pricey purchase.

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