Stream of the Day
Balenciaga comes to Fortnite
Epic Games this week announced a new collaboration between battle royale multiplayer game Fortnite and luxury fashion house Balenciaga.
Inspired by Balenciaga’s iconic collections, the new Balenciaga Fit Set of outfits for players introduces fresh looks for four of Fortnite’s most popular characters – Doggo, Ramirez, Knight, and Banshee. The new Outfits are completed with new Balenciaga backblings and pickaxes for players to express themselves in new ways.
Accompanying the launch of the digital apparel Set, Epic is also debuting a community-driven living lookbook campaign via the Strange Times Featured Hub inside Fortnite. At the centre of the Hub sits a Balenciaga retail store inspired by the brand’s brick-and-mortar locations, set in an unexpectedly strange city. Updated throughout the week, the new Hub and Balenciaga store will showcase the Fortnite community’s fashion on billboards, featuring creative images that mash-up players’ self-expression with unexpected elements.
With Balenciaga joining the world of Fortnite to celebrate digital fashion, both brands are also debuting a limited-run collab of physical apparel exclusively available in select Balenciaga stores and Balenciaga.com. The new line features hats, tees, hoodies and other fashion accessory inspired by Fortnite’s Retail Row.
“Our partnership with Epic didn’t start with Fortnite, actually,” says Demna Gvasalia, artistic director at Balenciaga. “It started with our own first video game, Afterworld, which we built using Unreal Engine to debut our Fall 2021 collection. From there, we have continued to be inspired by the creativity of Unreal and Fortnite communities. It made total sense, to me, that we collaborate further by creating these authentic Balenciaga looks for Fortnite and a new physical Fortnite clothing series for our stores.”
“Fashion has a long history in the Fortnite community, where players have the agency to show up however they want in our world,” says Adam Sussman, president at Epic Games. “Self-expression is one of the things that makes Fortnite so unique, and there couldn’t be a better first fashion partner than Balenciaga to bring their authentic designs and trendsetting culture to millions of players around the world.”
For full details on the Outfits, Strange Times Featured Hub, and other details, visit Fortnite’s full catalogue here.
