Diablo IV becomes the latest to take a bite into the high-end fashion world.
Milan Fashion Week had recently ended amidst plenty of glitz and glamour. With all the big household names within the fashion industry that made an appearance in Milan, Diablo IV is one such name that many would not be familiar with, or even expect for that matter. And yet, Blizzard Entertainment has been able to get itself into the door of Milan Fashion Week via a collaboration with highly-acclaimed Danish fashion house, Han Kjøbenhavn.
With the upcoming highly-anticipated RPG set to be released later this year, Blizzard has found a new way on getting more eyes onto Diablo IV, one of which is Milan Fashion Week. The exclusive collaboration brought the "Chthonic Penumbra” collection to life, which featured a high-concept journey through the works of creative director, Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen. His eye-catching sculptural designs were inspired by themes from the world of Sanctuary and Diablo IV’s mother of Demons, Lilith.
And while this collaboration may seem unheard of, it's been happening for quite some time now. Han Kjøbenhavn isn't the first to pair up with a popular video game title from a legendary developer. There have been plenty of fashion-meets-video games collaborations over the years, some of which were purely for digital purposes while others have been in ready-to-wear (RTW) collections.
League of Legends
Riot Games has been on an upward trajectory ever since the introduction of League of Legends back in October 2009. However, back then, nobody could have predicted just how large both LoL and Riot would have grown. And one way the company has grown tremendously was through smart and calculated collaborations that saw it gain further fame along the way.
It has partnered with only a few luxury brands since its inception but these brands carry far greater weight than one could imagine. In 2019, League of Legends teamed up with French luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton for an entire collection for the LoL World Championship that was held in Paris, France that year. The collab featured a bespoke travel case for the Summoner's Cup alongside prestige skins designed by Nicolas Ghesquière as well as other digital assets.
And that's not all. In 2021, Riot Games teamed up with one of its long-standing automotive partners, Mercedes-Benz to design championship rings for the world championship that year. And just last year, Riot introduced a brand new design to the Summoner's Cup, which was helmed and created by Tiffany & Co., one of the most prestigious jewellers around.
Fortnite
Fortnite is arguably one of the biggest battle royale shooters around. Since its debut in 2017, Fortnite has grown to become the go-to video game to further spread modern-day pop culture into the digital realm. Countless collaborations are Fortnite's go-to mechanic, finding new ways to introduce new skins, apparel, and more to the game to continuously draw new players in.
The likes of Moncler and Ralph Lauren are just some of the biggest names to have worked with Epic Games in bringing their real-world creations into the world of Fortnite. Back in January, Epic's most popular video game title released its latest collaboration, this time with BLVCK PARIS, a lifestyle luxury brand that was founded in 2017 by French designer, Julian O’hayon and has since grown to become a "million-dollar streetwear brand", according to Forbes.
However, there is one major collaboration that will not be included in the list of worthy additions to Fortnite due to the sensitive nature of the brand's name and image at the current time. While it wasn't due to any direct involvement with Fortnite, it's more down to how this particular brand represented itself in one of its recent fashion campaigns, which didn't go down all too well with the general public.
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy is one of the most beloved series by the Japanese game development company, Square Enix. While it also has other popular titles like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy is one that has touched the hearts of millions. And while there were multiple titles to choose from, it was Final Fantasy XIII that had heads turning for the wildest of reasons.
Back in 2012, Final Fantasy XIII-2 modelled the spring/summer collection menswear collection for Prada, which saw the likes of Lightning, Noel Kreiss, Hope Estheim, Snow Villiers, and Sazh Katzroy don some of Prada's pieces in a 12-page feature.
And in 2016, Lightning was chosen as the face of Louis Vuitton for its spring/summer collection that featured clothes and handbags. With Lightning being the face of the French luxury fashion house, even her designer, Tetsuya Nomura had also said that "this collaboration is not just a promotion of a game, and it is a great honour that the character herself received an offer from a world-famous brand. As a result of this collaboration, this has infused new breath into the character, Lightning.”
Need for Speed Unbound
While Electronics Arts (EA) is notorious for many things, it is also known for one of the most popular racing franchises, Need for Speed. Centred on illegal street racing at its core, the game has strayed away from that in past iterations but Need for Speed Unbound has looked to bring it back to its roots, albeit with a modern-day twist. This includes some luxury fashion collaborations, most notably British streetwear brand, Palace Skateboards which also had its very deluxe release that came with four cars with preset Palace liveries as well as 20 items of Palace-branded clothing that can be worn in-game.
But it's not just about the streetwear element in NFS Unbound. The game also takes a crack at pop culture and what it has done to the luxury fashion industry. Not only is the rapper and musical artist, A$AP Rocky featured in the game, but luxury brands like Versace and Balmain can also be found with their ready-to-wear apparel for you to show off in the only game.
Gran Turismo 7
Not to be outdone by its street racing counterpart, the simulation racing game series Gran Turismo had something to say when it launched its latest title, GT7 last year. Known for bringing lifelike racing conditions to the digital world, Gran Turismo 7 has been the pinnacle of sim racing, even if it was hit with some negative reviews along the way. But its collaboration with Dior did turn some heads.
Not only did players get to have new and exclusive Dior racing gear that they could apply to their avatar, but they could also unlock the rare and customised De Tomaso Mangusta. This was all designed by Dior's very own men's artistic director, Kim Jones. The collaboration with GT7 was also the first time Dior made headway into the virtual space.
