Magical change of appearance in the lore

[Kranel_San]

To me, fantasia does not exist. Nor anything from the cash shop.

I have seen MMOs where they try to incorporate pure game mechanics into the lore, but XIV is not one of them in regards to the cash shop. Saying Fantasia exists is like saying MSQ skip also exists in-game

[Turnintino]

To me, fantasia does not exist. Nor anything from the cash shop.

To be fair, I think a fantasia is still rewarded to you during ARR MSQ, so it's not strictly a cash shop thing in that sense. But the canonicalness of quest rewards is its own can of worms lol.

Anyway, we could argue that retainer fantasias might be as good an indicator as any of the concept's status in the lore, since -- while its description makes plain its literal utility as an appearance-editor -- when you actually speak to a retainer vocate to use it, the vocate treats the interaction as if you're letting go of your current retainer and hiring a new one; not literally enabling an alchemical cosmetic procedure that you may or may not be forcing upon them. BUT that's probably presented that way as much to side-step the problematic implications of molding the appearance of your employee as it is to hand-wave the silliness of fantasias in general.