A Taste of Lunar New Year With Humberto Leon x McDonald's
Art

A Taste of Lunar New Year With Humberto Leon x McDonald's

by Kenna McCafferty

Starting February 1, the Year of the Tiger is upon us and to celebrate the Lunar New Year Humberto Leon, co-founder of Opening Ceremony, curated a virtual reality experience in collaboration with McDonald's to share the good fortune across the globe.

To announce the collaboration, Leon shared how McDonald’s is a pop-culture presence in memories of childhood across cultures. The virtual reality experience serves as a way to imbue childhood nostalgia with a sense of futurism, and of course, celebration.

In each of the eight virtual rooms, Leon interprets each sign of the zodiac with intricate VR statues. Inspired by Leon’s love of fashion, the animals of the zodiac fuse colorful patterns and traditional Asian textiles in a hall surrounded by red draping and lanterns to create an immersive showcase of the Lunar New Year’s festivities.

At the entryway to the AltSpaceVR world, a sign from Leon shares that “for many Asian Americans, Lunar New Year is not only a time to celebrate with family and friends, but also an opportunity to share our cultural heritage with the broader community.”

To take part in the festivities, users can browse horoscopes to see what 2022 has in store, interact with other users, lanterns and red envelopes, and share messages and manifestations for the year to come (of course, all with a side of VR fries).

The experience is available from January 31 to February 15 for the duration of the Chinese New year celebration, but aims to extend beyond into the lives and hearts of many throughout the year, with downloadable horoscopes and a gallery of Leon’s Zodiac illustrations.

Photo via YouTube