Louis Vuitton recently unveiled their Spring-Summer 2016 campaign, or Series 4.

Witness Lightning, the new model for Louis Vuitton.

That’s pretty gorrammed groundbreaking if you ask me. The main character from Final Fantasy modelling Louis Vuitton.

I think most of us would expect that this could carry off in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong but it’s much more than that. There’s sightings in Spain, as a global house campaign (I’ll have to check out the Sydney store soon…update when I have).

It’s easy to underestimate the cultural significance of this, both the global nature that embraces the video game demographic as both established and highly aspirational but also the acceptance of Lightning as a valid fashion avatar – this isn’t a game promo. She’s a model for one of the world’s most recognisable brands.

As usual I find the animation a too smooth and lacking the weightiness of a real person. It works better in the context of a fashion shoot, where the campaign looks to accentuate the ‘otherness’ of the model. Similarly, some commentors have also critiqued her poses as a bit too exaggerated, but hey, it’s fashion, where contortionist is a secondary skillset.

If find it interesting (read: I love it) that there’s no ‘buy Final Fantasy now!’ tag, or banners. Probably cheaper too to equip your FF character with an LV bag in game, than it is to buy a real one. HA (would LV allow them to model a damaged bag after a battle scene? Or worse, if it got stolen in the game!)

I wonder who approached who? Did Square approach LV, or the other way around?

Let’s finish off with a quick word from the campaign.

Today Lightning, the heroic figure in ‘Final Fantasy’, the cult series of video games that has inspired more than 100 million players around the world, agrees to become a character in the Louis Vuitton galaxy. The Maison has always pushed the boundaries of reality and dreams. Real, virtual, incarnate, metaphorical: Lightning is the fruit of Square Enix studios’ imagination, and she raises the question of immanence – that which takes place solely in the mind – in tomorrow’s world.

That’s next level right there. In other news, I learnt the word immanence due to the campaign. it’s clearly a win-win.

Where to now, fashion world. You’ve thrown a bit of a gauntlet here. Aspiring to be a video game character used to be the domain of cosplay freaks, but this takes it in new directions.