Uniqlo Collaboration - Final Fantasy
The Final Fantasy franchise has given birth to a plethora of merchandise. Including clothing and apparel, in which can be official goods, fan-made and at times a collaboration with a major design brand. An extensive number of different shirts and other wearable merchandise can now be found online and even in local stores. One such example is a “Meat Mithkabob” shirt, a reference to the Mithra race from Final Fantasy XI. Those looking for something more cozy and warm can also find hooded blankets designed like a Moogle or a fat Chocobo. Several tie designs are also available for customers that want Final Fantasy apparel that is more formal.
On other ecommerce sites, fans can also find hoodies that include iconic and popular Final Fantasy characters and content such as Cloud Strife, Black Mages, Moogles, etc. Also clothing that recreates certain battles from the series such as the fight between Hydaelyn and Zodiark from Final Fantasy XIV. On the back of the shirt reads “The Eldest and Most Powerful of Primals”. In addition, there are clothing designs that focus more on the story background such as another Final Fantasy inspired shirt is the “Meat Mithkabob” T-shirt, which on the front depicts Mithra (female-dominant race of felinet-like humanoids from Final Fantasy XI) kabob and on the back is an illustration of a knight chasing two crabs.
Cloud Strife and Sephiroth are the two most popular characters of the Final Fantasy VII series in the female fan community. Thus, there is a plethora of shirts, hoodies, sweaters, and jackets with these two characters.
Final Fantasy Clothing Media Collaborations
Square Enix had also collaborated with major high-end fashion designers Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood in media collaborations. Lightning, the protagonist of the Final Fantasy XIII game flaunts 5 pieces of the 2016 spring collection of Louis Vuitton that caused quite a stir on the internet. Most fans were confused with the odd collaboration, while others were impressed with Lightning’s new ability to eloquently model designer fashion like a pro. In Final Fantasy XV, the character Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (aka Luna) wears an all white wedding dress in one of the sidequests which was designed exclusively by Vivienne Westwood. Unfortunately this wedding dress was designed for the game and has not been created for actual sale to a customer.
Final Fantasy Uniqlo Collaboration
The Final Fantasy Uniqlo collaboration is primarily Heattech clothing that features artwork and content from Final Fantasy XIV such as Havix Estonia, Alphino, Alisaie, Sid, Nero, Krile, and Y’shtola.
Uniqlo Heattech
Heattech is an original fabric technology created by Uniqlo, which consists of rayon, polyester, and acrylic that generates heat from the thin fibers of the materials. Uniqlo has about three different layers of thickness in shirts, sweaters, and pants of this thermal clothing technology. They are the leading number one store in Japan for affordable, comfortable and practical clothing. When winter comes in Japan, heat pads, kotatsu (table with a thick heated blanket) and Uniqlo’s heattech clothing become household essential items.
Starting in December 2019, this line was available for purchase at stores in Shinjuku and Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Posters, billboards, and even full size cardboard showcases were displayed throughout Tokyo advertising the collaboration between the two big franchises, all of which contain iconic Final Fantasy themes and characters. Shirts were sold at approximately 1,999yen ($19.99 US dollars).
Other Fashion Collaborations
In addition Uniqlo, Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood, other major fashion designers that collaborated with Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series was Prada. In 2012, the characters Lighting, Noel Kreiss, Hope Estheim, Snow Villers, and Sazh Katzroy from Final Fantasy XIII were selected to model Prada’s 2012 spring/summer collection. The characters flaunted dark colored shirts and pants coordinated outfits with unique patterns, while Sazh Katzroy modeled a light gray pants suit with an unbuttoned bright yellow shirt and a black tie.
More recently, Roen men’s clothing brand was another collaborator with Square Enix. This time the characters from Final Fantasy XV did a model photoshoot. The characters selected to model Roen’s spring/summer 2016 collection were Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia, and Prompto Argentum. Clothes specifically designed from the game are available for purchase on Roen’s official homepage webstore. The main character of the series, Noctis, his entire wardrobe from gloves, jackets, shirts, and pants were available for purchase, as well as character Prompto’s full attire in 2016. This type of collaboration was only available for a limited time and therefore was very quick to become popular and sell out to eager Final Fantasy fans.