Epic has been weighing luxury partnerships for some time, says partnerships lead Emily Levy. Balenciaga was judged a good fit for this first fashion collaboration because of its existing work in the metaverse.

Afterworld, Balenciaga’s proprietary game, launched in December 2020, has used volumetric capture and 3D virtual design to construct a dystopian Balenciaga world, with photorealistic outfits. “From there, we have continued to be inspired by the creativity of Unreal and Fortnite communities,” Gvasalia says. “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.”

Epic Games revenue hit $5.1 billion in 2020, driven by Fortnite and the sale of in-game currency V-Bucks, used to purchase skins, accessories and emotes (actions). Balenciaga skins are priced at 1000 V-Bucks which equates to approximately $8 dollars, intended to remain accessible for all players.

Fortnite players can buy Balenciaga hero accessories reworked into pickaxes and gliders.

Epic Games

In April 2020, high-profile Fortnite player Lachlan staged a Fortnite fashion show in the game, where players could enter and show off their skins. The video has had 11 million views on YouTube and underlined the appetite for fashion in the Fortnite ecosystem, says Levy.

The growth of Creative Mode

Fortnite was initially best known for Battle Royale, a game mode where players fight 1 versus 100. However, the user base has evolved over the last four years, Levy says. Now 50 per cent of players are spending their time in Fortnite Creative Mode, exploring different virtual experiences and creating their own virtual worlds. “We have lots of different people within our community. So we know that fashion is of interest,” says Levy. At present, brands cannot sell items on Fortnite independently. Fashion activations in the game are more about market awareness — reaching a hard-to-target audience of “young, enthusiastic, digital, native folks”, as Alan Cooper, director, product and consumer communications at Epic Games, puts it.