Epic’s haute couture collaboration with Balenciaga in Fortnite includes a walking dog hoodie

Epic Games Partners With Fashion House Balenciaga To Create First-Ever Haute Couture Fortnite in-game skins. But the two companies aren’t just working on virtual clothes. They’re also teaming up with a Balenciaga-themed hub and a real-world clothing line that you can buy.

There will be four new skins, which you can see in the photo below, and each will have alternate styles. Epic is also planning to sell other Balenciaga-themed accessories, including a pickaxe based on the Speed ​​Sneaker and the Balenciaga backpack.

Image: Epic Games

The new equipment will be available both in by fortnite The usual in-game showcase and in the Balenciaga-themed “Strange Times” creative hub, which includes a Balenciaga virtual store where you can purchase cosmetics. Below is a preview of what this area looks like – there’s even an in-game animated billboard above the virtual store with the walking dog Doggo in the hoodie. This billboard will also appear in the real world, in Tokyo, London, Seoul and New York.

Image: Epic Games

And if you like the hoodie Doggo wears, you will be able to purchase it along with a number of other items including crew neck shirts, t-shirts and hats in the real world. Fortnite-Balenciaga themed collection. These clothes will go on sale Monday or Tuesday, depending on your location.

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Epic isn’t the first video game to collaborate with a fashion house. Gucci partnered with Roblox on a surreal virtual garden in May, for example, while Louis Vuitton created skins for Riot Games characters. League of Legends in 2019. Balenciaga himself created a video game to launch his Fall 2021 collection which was made in Unreal Engine.

But the pairing of Fortnite and haute couture is a given given the importance of virtual outfits in the culture of the game. “Fortnite is fashion, ”said Adam Sussman, president of Epic Games, in an interview with The edge. “All the experience of Fortnite focuses on self-expression, player agency, and the ability to live out a fantasy of portraying characters and outfits that people want to wear.

He has a point; when i play Fortnite, I’m constantly looking for different outfits and accessories to suit my mood or to create fun mashups. (Like, say, having Master Chief wield Kratos’ Leviathan ax for The Madalorian Grogu floats behind him.)

The partnership between Epic and Balenciaga could also be a glimpse of how Unreal Engine is being used to create virtual and real experiences in the future. This Doggo animated billboard that will appear in-game and in actual cities, for example, was made in Unreal Engine and repurposed assets created as part of the Epic and Balenciaga collaboration. It seems likely we’ll see Epic make similar transmedia efforts for others. Fortnite partnerships across the board.

Epic hasn’t made a commitment on whether or when we might see more fashion collaborations, but it definitely seems like a possibility. “I think that’s just the start,” said Emily Levy, who works on partnerships at Epic. “I think what’s really special about what we can do with our technology and with our community is create new ways for players to express themselves. [and] also new ways for gamers to experience fashion. I think you’ll continue to see us explore what these two opportunities can look like for our community.