Our players make The Sims every day. They play to express their individualities, interests, and aspirations. They inspire us to keep innovating and improving. They’re creators in every sense of the word, and we’re thrilled to share a detailed look at our latest collaboration with multi-award-winning gaming content creator and DE&I advocate, Danielle “Ebonix” Udogaranya.

Ebonix is a familiar face for most Simmers. As a long time Simmer, streamer, and custom content creator, her passion for advocating for greater representation in gaming can be felt in everything she makes. More recently, she was a key contributor to “Play in Color,” a campaign and documentary in partnership with Dark & Lovely that aimed to shine a spotlight on the importance of authentic representation in gaming. Although she has been a player of The Sims since the original game’s launch, her journey into the realm of custom content creation started in The Sims 4. What began as a desire to have dashiki in her own game soon grew into a mission dedicated to creating representation for others as well.

This time around, we’re proud to work with her to create the Urban Homage Kit, launching April 18, 2024, which features pieces that tap into the zeitgeist of eras past that have had lasting influence on the fashion we’re seeing in our current day. Dani was kind enough to answer some of our questions about how this Kit came to be and the creative process behind the scenes.

Can you talk a little about the ideation process for this Kit Collaboration?

I'm someone that has a million and one ideas, so when the team came to me with this collaboration, my mind IMMEDIATELY began thinking of all the different items I wanted to bring into the game. I pitched three different themes, which I collected lots of different inspiration for from all over. When I came up with Urban Homage, the pitch [to Maxis] was paying homage to the 80s, 90s, and 00s,” says Ebonix.

“[The Kit] is inspired by the urban chic culture which highlights the innovation, diversity and vibrancy that city life fosters which I very much embrace as part of my day to day wears. So with that said, I wanted to bring to life some timeless pieces that tap into eras that we draw inspiration from and are still the blueprint of fashion innovation to this day, with a variety of outfits that are dynamic and vibrant, traditional and contemporary, and rich with cultural trends!“

The pieces in this Kit are so iconic, where did you draw inspiration from, and why did you choose Urban Homage for your Kit Collaboration?

Thank you!! So, I pulled a lot of inspiration from iconic fashion eras from the 00s, 90s and 80s,and saw how different generations remixed and drew inspiration from those eras to make their own iconic looks fit into the current trends, but also, I took a look at some of my own looks and how my trends have changed over the years, but still tapped into that 90s/00s blueprint!

How much of this Kit pulled inspiration from your real life and experiences during that time?

Well, the numbers on the basketball shorts are actually the birthdays of my mum (24), dad (18), best friend (16), goddaughter (14) and my own (10)!I felt this would be such a beautiful, personal touch to commemorate and pay homage to the people who mean the absolute world to me. I also had to include a dashiki in the Kit, because this was actually the first piece of custom content that I shared with the world. For me, this is a real full circle moment, because it was a piece that allowed me to tell my stories authentically, and now, it's a piece that players all over the world can use to tell their stories without the need for custom content!

Do you own any of these items in your own closet?

Haha yes! I am a self-proclaimed co-ord queen, so I have a lot of the co-ord sets myself, as well as the headwraps, septum piercing, and bamboo hoops! I also have a personalized graffiti tee in the works!

What was your approach for creating pieces that bridge the gap between iconic fashion items and universally appealing styles?

What I wanted to ensure the most was that the pieces didn't feel dated. So, it was important that we created items that primarily took inspiration from iconic eras, but not to copy and paste these looks and in order to do that, we looked at trends and looks that were also timeless, and combined them to create the styles.

Who in The Sims do you see rocking this Kit best? 💥 And in what worlds?

My girl Penny Pizzazz is about to go to TOWN in San Myshuno with this whole new wardrobe! And I'm envisioning Dirk Dreamer heading to the Starlight Accolades in Del Sol Valley in so many pieces from the Kit!

What kind of stories do you see players creating as Sims wearing and using the pieces in this Kit?

I can see every kind of story being created using pieces from the Kit. Fashion designers, stylists, activists, celebrities, music groups, parties, sports events, and even just everyday existing in looks that resonate with the Sims personalities! There's so much potential for this Kit to be used in every aspect of a player's game!

Collaborating with creators is so important for The Sims: What was it like working with this team?

I've had the pleasure of working with the team a couple of times now, but this was in a completely new capacity and has been amazing to work with them on something so life-changing from start to finish. They took a lot of care to bring my ideas to life, and took a lot of my constructive feedback away and came back with great designs and pieces.

It goes without saying that collaborating with creators is exceptionally important. It's inspiring their communities, supporting their journey, uplifting their voices and helping to craft the game around the community, who are the changemakers and game changers that make the game what it is today!

Finally, a classic: What is the most chaotic thing you’ve ever made your Sim do? 👀

...now why you gotta put me on blast?! LOL! I have done many-a-chaotic things in all of my years of Simming, but one of the most chaotic things my Sims have ever done is have a court case (...) to represent my Sim on trial.. It was really a movie because it ended up with the plaintiff having to go on the run and change their identity!

The Sims 4 Urban Homage Ktit will be available for purchase beginning April 18 in The Sims 4 on PC via EA app, Mac® via Origin, Epic Games Store, Steam®, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems.