Diablo 4’s high-end fashion line debuts at Milan Fashion Week

Blizzard Entertainment and Danish fashion house Han Kjøbenhavn unveiled a stunning new collaboration on Saturday at Milan Fashion Week: a Diablo-inspired, high-end, ready-to-wear collection for 2023 that will be available for purchase this summer.

Han Kjøbenhavn’s Autumn/Winter ‘Chthonic Penumbra’ womenswear collection goes far beyond the t-shirts and hoodies one usually associates with gaming-inspired fashion. The range includes eye-catching fashion pieces made up of faux fur, vegan leather and feathers, in shades of gray and black, vibrant red fabrics, and complemented with pearls and chrome accents. Han Kjøbenhavn described the new collection as inspired by the phrase “hell as a beautiful place”.

Ahead of Saturday’s show at Milan Fashion Week, Polygon spoke with creative director Han Kjøbenhav, Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen and CEO Daniel Søndergaard Hummel about the brand’s collaboration with Diablo and Blizzard.

Han Kjøbenhavn’s Diablo-inspired womenswear collection isn’t the brand’s typical collaboration. He’s worked with other companies over the past decade, including sportswear brand Puma and textile firm Pendleton Woolen Mills, but Davidsen says he’s become less interested in those kinds of collaborations in recent years — and that Diablo and Han Kjøbenhavn share a certain “emotional DNA .”

Photo: Estrop/Getty Images

Photo: Estrop/Getty Images

“Normally a fashion brand would do sneaker collaborations and stuff, but… we haven’t done a lot of collaborations [like that] because it just seemed almost oversaturated,” Davidsen said. “We wanted to look at new possibilities, with new partners, where it’s more about emotional DNA and the connection between brands than a product. Talking to the [Blizzard], the fight between us and Diablo was actually really good, because mine and Dan’s aesthetic, creatively, is not clean and sweet. The darkest side [is more] our aesthetic is more than just a classic fashion brand.”

Davidsen said that Han Kjøbenhavn aimed to avoid making a direct translation of what appears in the game in Diablo 4 — and to avoid, creatively, what he called “tricks.”

“The basic idea was to talk to the Diablo team and translate emotions to make sure that what we’re creating isn’t a one-to-one translation of a skin — that gets too technical, right?” he said. “We’re trying to translate emotion into something that can exist in our world. Because we both share a lot of creative DNA in our visions, it’s actually been an enjoyable journey.”

Hummel said he sees “common ground, common aesthetics and common feelings in the audience that overlap a lot,” with Han Kjøbenhavn, “especially when you have an aesthetic like ours and the world of Diablo.” Looking at Han Kjøbenhavn’s recent catwalk and prêt-à-porter lines makes it clear why the game franchise fits, creatively. the Copenhagen-based fashion house leans towards dark, unsettling imagery, with an emphasis on black leather, commanding silhouettes and, yes, even the occasional trick – like a leather dress with a built-in choker that takes the term literally.

Photo: Estrop/Getty Images

Photo: Estrop/Getty Images

Davidsen said he was creatively inspired by the “big, beautiful bad Renaissance” style. Diablo 4its art direction, as well as its “dark and dystopian” atmosphere. But this conveying the “journey” of a player’s adventure through Diablo’s dungeon world was just as important as the game’s dark undertones.

“It’s a long journey, which I translate visually sometimes in terms of materials,” he explained. “How does the material react when it walks or when it interacts? Of course, “conflict” is also a big thing for me, something I share with the Diablo universe. The darkness is obvious but conflicting – but the journey carries a lot of visual emotion for me.”

Those materials, Davidsen said, include leather, rubber, and other skin-closing materials inspired by Diablo’s Lilith, as well as travel-inspired, mesh-like fabrics that convey the feel of the game’s fictional spirits. Hummel likened the line to “creeping [Diablo] in the natural world’ through fashion.

Han Kjøbenhavn is not just airport runway fashion, although the decadent showcase of creative emotion is transferred there, in clothing and sound and visual effects. The company, which was founded in 2008 as an eyewear brand, now sells casual, ready-to-wear clothing including pants, T-shirts, sweatshirts and outerwear, and Davidsen is well aware of the wants and expectations of Diablo fans.

Photo: Estrop/Getty Images

Photo: Estrop/Getty Images

“There’s a reason why we start with the runway show,” Hummel said. “It’s important for us to start with the basic emotion and then develop it into more finished pieces.”

“When we do the runway, we know it’s a set form: It’s over-the-top, big emotions,” Davidsen said. “The first mission for us is to bring out the emotion, to be exaggerated in some of the lines. For the audience, obviously we’re thinking everyday, ready-to-wear — hopefully we’ve got a good idea for the players and the audience, and [will] create something special for them.

“They’re very specific about what they think Diablo should be,” added Davidsen. “We have a die-hard audience, just like Diablo. This is what the audience wants Diablo 4 deliver what they expect from Diablo, and that’s something I really know. I read the comment sections.”