Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci has officially stepped into the world of esports through a collaboration with British organisation Fnatic. Gucci has unveiled a watch inspired by Fnatic’s League of Legends team, which competes in the LEC.
It features the esports team’s logo and color scheme, and since this is gaming we’re talking about, there will even be a matching diving game devoted to the watch that will appear in Gucci’s already game-filled app soon. The Swiss-made watch also has Gucci’s logo on the crown and it’s branding on the clasp.
Louis Vuitton dipped its own toes into the esports world last year when it partnered with Riot Games to create a Trophy Travel case for the Summoner’s Cup. Previously the French fashion house created these cases only for major conventional sports, not video game tournaments. Champion also did a special release last year of baseball tees featuring the logos of five esports teams. And Fergus Purcell, of skatewear label Palace fame, is designing the branding and apparel for a new David Beckham-backed esports team.
The watch is available exclusively through Gucci’s website, has Fnatic’s logo on the dial at the 6 o’clock marker and features a black & orange dial and bezel. According to the announcement, “the archival code mirrors both the initials of Guccio Gucci and the gaming slogan, ‘Good Game’.”
Gucci and Fnatic first worked together at the top of the year, with the League of Legends team sitting front row at the Milan Fashion Show dressed in the brand’s clothing. At the time, Fnatic partner development director Craig Santicchia told Esports Insider: “Gucci has always been an innovative brand, pushing the boundaries, much like ourselves at Fnatic. Disrupting the norms and opening up new possibilities.”