Louis Vuitton reveals its inner nerd, casts video game character in new campaign

It's often said that fashion is fantasy, a playful world in which a person can creatively explore — and present — their sense of self in a way that's not necessarily tied to reality.

Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière is quickly establishing himself as a master of this fantasy, blurring the lines between fiction and the 'IRL' world by casting a video game character in the fashion house's latest campaign.

Lightning, a female protagonist and narrator in several installments of the Final Fantasy video game series, is the star of Louis Vuitton's 'Series 4' campaign, illustrated by her designer, famed gaming artist Tetsuya Nomura.

Originally created by video game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi in 1987, Final Fantasy is now owned and produced by gaming giant Square Enix, and is one of the most successful video game franchises ever.

While casting a CGI-animated character is certainly an unusual move, Lightning seems an apt fit for the Spring 2016 collection, which was sent down a Blade Runner-esque runway at Paris Fashion Week in October to soundbites from video game Minecraft and sci-fi flick Tron. 

At the time, Ghesquière told The Guardian he was inspired by anime characters and sci-fi films to create a collection that explored, "the frontier of the digital world."

This isn't Lightning's first taste of the fashion world; back in 2012 she, along with fellow Final Fantasy characters Noel and Snow, donned Prada's Spring 2012 men's collection for a 12-page editorial in British magazine Arena Homme+.

Now she's nabbed herself a starring role in such a major fashion gig, we just hope her co-workers don't treat her any differently at work on Monday.