Vampire MMORPG, fashion, eh?

Because having everyone outfitted with the same armor, as in WoW, is clearly best for immersion. And in vampiric court, it's not like they are a category of people entirely dedicated to destroy thoses who are out of fashion.

I don't think the devs can be called idiot to try to add as much flavor as possible. It's dubious that it will work, but it's actually very much adapted. Of course, it look like they spend five year on that which is excessive.

In a MMO, there is generally an in-game economy. There are in-game currencies that you can earn while playing the game. Some games include currencies which can only be purchased with real money.

How are items introduced in the game for players to buy, sell and trade?

1) In-game vendors. A player moves his character to a vendor and exchanges currency for items.
2) out-of-game cash shop. This is where a player will buy items and receive them when they log in.
3) Completing in-game objectives and receiving a reward.
4) Killing stuff and looting the corpses.
5) Gathering/scavenging/farming. I.E. running around and picking things up.
6) Crafting things. I will expand below:

Crafting: in a game like World of Warcraft, or most fantasy MMOs, a player can collect resources (metals, leather and hides, herbs etc.) and use those resources to create items.

I expect Vampire will take a route similar to Star Wars: the Old Republic. The vampire itself will likely not do the crafting, instead you will have retainers that craft at your direction. It's sure to include fashion items, but also functional items, such as weapons, armor, magical items etc.

Rarity is important:
If you find/earn/create a rare item, it's cool to wear it to show off, or sell it for gobs of (in-game) money. There is also the Diablo 3 route: where you can sell rare stuff for REAL money (with the Developer getting a cut obviously!)

And what makes you think it won't be?

What extra information do you have that WoD will be Barbie online?

Where does CCP state anywhere that clothing will be a currency?

The only thing we know is that the way your character looks is an important aspect of the game and can potentially a way to display your power and/or wealth.

Would you prefer a publicly viewable list of all your secret powers and intrigues? Would you want rivals to know that media tycoon is actually your retainer?

Or would you prefer to all look the same, but still be secretive so nobody actually knows how powerful you are? Because, ya know, that's quite the opposite of one of the main reasons why MMOs actually work.

So ye, I'd prefer to wear the super expensive clothes and jewelry and have people gaze upon you in awe because you must be a big player, but they really have no idea where your influence is or, probably more important, how to undermine it.