It's Final Fantasy XVI's release week, and Square Enix's promotional machine is getting into gear to conquer stages around the world, including the prestigious Paris Fashion Week.
Today Square Enix announced via Twitter that it collaborated with the French fashion brand Pièces Uniques and its designer Edmond Luu to create 8 haute couture, handmade outfits inspired by the Eikons. This collection will debut at Paris Fashion Week with the name "Artefact Primordial" (Eikon Artefact. "Primordial" is the French name used for Eikons).
If you're not familiar with the definition "Haute Couture" or "high fashion," it's the most exclusive (and expensive) category of fashion items. Pièces Uniques is an interesting brand, as it's explicitly inspired by the heroes of manga, sci-fi, and video games, aiming to "create the armor allowing people to feel like the heroes of tomorrow."
The game's official Twitter account also shared a video starring designer Edmond Luu himself as he explains his experience with the Final Fantasy series and his creative philosophy for the collection.
Taking you through Edmond Luu’s journey with Final Fantasy, from the very first time he laid his eyes on screen while his big brother would play, to now, collaborating with the game through his label Pieces Uniques.
— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) June 19, 2023
This is a reminder that every dream is within reach. #FF16 pic.twitter.com/M1a9ywKNsA
While this is certainly the most French promotional initiative for the game, it's not the only one. Earlier today we saw gorgeous art installed in Japanese stations and a 3D battle scene between Ifrit and Titan projected on a massive screen in Tokyo.
Final Fantasy XVI will release for PS5 on June 22 at 00:00 local time in all regions. A PC version has also been confirmed by Yoshida-san himself, but Square Enix will need time to optimize the game for the platform, so we don't know when it'll launch. More info will be shared at a later date.
If you'd like to learn more, you can read my preview and enjoy our interview with Yoshida-san and art director Hiroshi Minagawa.
Recently, we learned that PlatinumGames and the Kingdom Hearts team at Square Enix helped out with development. We also saw the release of a lovely trailer focused on the theme song by Kenshi Yonezu.
A demo for PS5 is already available on the PlayStation Store and is playable right now, including the beginning of the game and more. We know that a day-one patch is coming, and improvements in further updates have already been promised.
