Of Course, There's a Balenciaga Hoodie on Fortnite
Fashion

Of Course, There's a Balenciaga Hoodie on Fortnite

by Ana Escalante

The new Fortnite x Balenciaga collaboration is what teenage boy dreams are made of.

The French luxury house and Epic Games just announced a partnership spanning both physical and digital realms as part of a massive push to revolutionize the fashion metaverse — one that's been exponentially picking up speed since the start of COVID. Balenciaga previously displayed its Fall 2021 collection in the form of a video game, so it's clear the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

There are few aspects to this collection we can celebrate: luxury "skins" players can buy at a virtual Balenciaga boutique to customize their avatars with, digital lookbook campaigns displayed on billboards across the globe and on the platform, and in-game accessory weapons like a Speed Sneaker Pickaxe. Players can also buy a new dance track by BFRND, husband and collaborator of Creative Director Demna Gvasalia.

Want to match with your character IRL? Balenciaga is taking the collaboration to the next level with a limited-run of Fortnite-branded t-shirts, hoodies, jackets and baseball caps, available both online and in boutiques worldwide. The design isn't too elaborate – just a mishmash of both brand logos — but we're sure we'll see it in a Twitch stream in the near future.

This isn't the first time a luxury brand has made its presence known within the video game realm. Previously, Louis Vuitton collaborated with League of Legends, while Gucci has contributed designs to Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Roblox, among others. With this new step, It doesn't look like the trend is dying down anytime soon. Will Gvasalia make his models skydive from a school bus onto the catwalk next season? At this point, who knows.

You can buy the Balenciaga x Fortnite collaboration garments on Balenciaga's website, while metaverse items are available in-game at the Strange Times Hub.

Photos courtesy of Balenciaga/ Epic