Louis Vuitton spin-off SS22 in memory of Virgil Abloh
As part of Miami's Art Basel event, luxury house Louis Vuitton staged a runway show for its Spring/Summer 2022 menswear line, the latest collection designed by the recently deceased Virgil Abloh. The show, Virgil is Here, became a tribute to the late designer and artistic director of the brand after his death on November 28.
Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke opened the show with a speech in which he recalled the day he met Abloh in Tokyo 15 years ago. Friends, collaborators and celebrities close to the creative were also present at the presentation, such as Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and the CEO of LVMH, Bernard Arnault.
In addition to the show, Louis Vuitton shared a manifesto from Abloh from July 2020. In it, he said: "Stating the obvious is not in my nature, but I am a believer in the power of documentation. As I restart my engines at Louis Vuitton and I take off into a future of new possibilities, I look back to my port of departure. Under my artistic direction, I see my Louis Vuitton men's collections as my platform of nuance. I strive to use fashion to convey and raise awareness of the ideals of inclusion, unity and humanity".
"It is my desire to imbue the traditional codes of luxury with my own progressive values..."
The featured collection, which was originally shown during Paris Fashion Week in June, touched on themes of rave culture, martial arts and gender. Key items in the line include monogrammed nylon jackets and patched cotton shirts, as well as geometric paneled pieces.
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The bags also had great prominence, some with the traditional print of the brand and others with different portraits of landscapes on the surface.
In the designer's manifesto, he spoke of his desire to present an inspiring mirror for "young people of color" to reflect themselves and references Dorothy's journey in the Wizard of Oz for the similarity to her fashion journey. , highlighting the importance of nuance in her work as she strives to change the discourse of luxury fashion.
"I believe in nuance because I believe in the intelligence and perceptiveness of my audience," he continued. "As I move forward, and continue to infuse my vision with Black aesthetics and inclusivity, I will never underestimate them. Through my own reality, I am interested in the reversal of the expected roles of race within society, and the discourse that I am interested in contributing to the progression of fashion's relationship with labels and stereotypes: "designer" vs. "image maker," "luxury" vs. "streetwear," or the nuanced idea of clothing of street in front of the own "clothes of street".
"In my quote game, streetwear is a community founded on subculture, while 'streetwear' is a commodity founded on fashion."
This article was originally published on FashionUnited.UK, and later translated from English to Spanish and edited by Alicia Reyes Sarmiento.
