adverve:

The Gamer Wears Prada.

The upcoming issue of Brit fashion rag Arena Homme+ will include a 12-page spread featuring characters from Final Fantasy XIII-2, modeling for Prada’s Spring/Summer 2012 menswear collection. The images were developed by Square Enix’s Visual Works, Japan.

A word from editor Max Pearmain:

Our Spring issue focuses on a world of direction and escapism, and having a visually stunning videogame franchise such as Final Fantasy work alongside us and a leading fashion brand like Prada to create something so unique is incredible.

He also says he’s “always been interested by the power of videogames and their place in society,” although I find it cooler still that Prada’s apparently interested too. It’s a sign of the times that a luxury brand can dip into mainstream beloveds and produce delightfully consumable advertising — content in its own right. 

I also like that they’re talking to gamers and game fans who may not fit the stereotypical unemployed-wanker-in-mom’s-basement mode — or at least are aspiring not to. This is the kind of branded and collaborative content that, bit by bit, transforms culture, or at leasts reflects its own transformation back to it. And that’s how new norms are born.

The edition hits stands April 12.

(via pastwright-deactivated20130120)