E-sports phenomenon, League of Legends, is finding interest from the LVMH-owned maison, which has announced that it will be designing in-game skins and a trophy case for the world champion’s cup, in a sign of e-sports’ continuing ascendancy.

Part of the interest is the prestige LV ascribes to an e-sport competition. Previously, the brand has created cases for major physical sporting tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, and the America’ Cup sailing competition, according to a release on the League of Legends website.  Both sides presumably hope to

The world champion, who will receive the Summoner’s Cup on the 10th November following over a month of competition. “Louis Vuitton has long been associated with the world’s most coveted trophies, and here we are today, alongside the Summoner’s Cup. We are thrilled to be part of such an iconic event”, said Michael Burke, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton.

In addition, the partnership of Riot Games – maker of League of Legends – and Louis Vuitton is moving into digital couture. The release goes on to trail a “unique champion skins and a capsule collection designed by Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Women’s collections, along with other League of Legend digital assets.”

It’s not Louis Vuitton’s first involvement with video games, according to the Verge, which points out that the fashion house used a character from the Final Fantasy series as a virtual model. It follows the growing appeal of e-sports and gaming more broadly as a mainstream audience to appeal to.

“More than 200 million people have played or are playing League of Legends,” said Naz Aletaha, head of e-sports/global business development at Riot Games, speaking earlier this year.  

For many of those players it’s become far more than just a game. “This has really become a lifestyle. This is their preferred form of entertainment, this is the time they spend with their friends, this is an art, this is storytelling, it is music, it is what they read – and to many of them, it’s sport.”

Sourced from Riot Games, The Verge, WARC