What's The Latest Move In Fashion And Gaming, You Ask? A Fortnite Collaboration With Moncler

It was only a matter of time before another of fashion's beloved labels jumped on the hype to dress a variety of gaming characters, which leads us to report on gaming platform Fortnite continuing their own slew of high fashion collabs. First they paired with Balenciaga, next on the agenda? A collaboration with Matthew William's 6 MONCLER 1017 ALYX 9SM collection for Moncler Genius, first revealed earlier this year.

Named the Moncler Classic Set, the catalogue includes the Andre and Renee outfits from Fortnite, all directly inspired by Williams' unique creations. The outfits also have the power of transitioning from light to dark as a player's altitude gets higher while ascending up mountains within the game, adding a new twist to the collaboration that sets it apart from other examples that have come before.

There's been somewhat of a cultural shift in the gaming world recently. Whether it be an intense infatuation with the ever-growing digital sphere (one that's paved the way for designers like Stefan Cooke, Moschino and Gucci to battle it out on the playing field for a collaboration with the virtual gaming platform The Sims), or a genuine interest in the explosive collision between the world of gaming culture and high fashion. It's hard to keep track of the who, what, where and why questions when covering the much-coveted area of online gaming and high fashion link-ups. Refusing to stop at their The Sims collaboration, Gucci have also dabbled in the virtual sphere wherever possible. In the past year alone, the Italian house have explored the concept of immersive experiences through their Gucci Places initiative as well as delving deeper into the world of online gaming by customising an Xbox with the label's iconic branding and choosing to market said product for $10,000.

Speaking to HYPEBEAST about the partnership, Emily Levy, senior manager of partnerships at Epic Games (which owns Fortnite), revealed, 'Our team at Epic worked very closely with Moncler and Matthew Williams to bring these in-game designs to life. The increased amount of freedom in a digital space like Fortnite provided us the opportunity to be highly creative, which resulted in new reactive styles for these Outfits that transform from light to dark as players change altitude within the game.'

Going on to comment on the increasing popularity of high fashion collaborations within gaming culture, Levy added, 'fashion is an important cultural element that needs to be part of the Fortnite ecosystem we are creating, just like music, sports or entertainment. While you might not think it, the player experience in Fortnite really revolves around fashion, in that all of our in-game outfits and accessories support player fantasy, agency, and self-expression in a social environment.'

Fortnite's Moncler outfits, accessories and loading screen were made available in the item shop on 20 November.