Louis Vuitton Cast a Video Game Character in Its Spring Campaign
Lightning for @louisvuitton #lvss16. Photo: @nicolasghesquiere/Instagram
Fashion brands will do a lot to drive sales: Burberry’s social media and technology thirst is real, Coach cast Lady Gaga’s dog, Katy Perry recorded an original jingle for H&M, Kendall and Kylie Jenner are basically making out in Balmain’s Fall 2015 ads, and more not-so-subtle tricks to attract customers. But Louis Vuitton’s latest stunt is unique and targeting a very niche shopper: gamers who happen to love couture.
Nicholas Ghesquière, the creative director of the French house, shared on Instagram that “reality and fantasy become one” with the new campaign starring Lightning, a character in Final Fantasy, a popular sci-fi video game franchise. Lightning, who has pink hair and is very reminiscent of Fernanda Ly (the Japanese model who rocks the same shade of Pepto Bismol-colored hair and walked in LV’s Fall 2015 show), is a “genuine heroine,” according to Ghesquière.
Look 38 from the Spring/Summer 2016 runway show.
The “Series 4” campaign for the Spring 2016 collection was made in collaboration with Tetsuya Normura of Square Enix, the developer of the popular fantasy series. In the CGI images that have been released so far, Lightning wears clothing that was seen on the runway. In one, she’s in look 38, consisting of tribal print shorts and a leather crop top and another she’s in a top with a sheer back (from look 18) carrying a quilted bag.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time a video game character has tried high-end duds on for size. Besides the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood characters who wear designs from Olivier Rousteing and Karl Lagerfeld, Prada-clad characters appeared on the pages of the Japanese men’s fashion magazine Arena Homme Plus. Paradoxically, Jeremy Scott created a collection inspired by Mario Brothers and Nintendo.
Fashion doesn’t discriminate!
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