In a fitting tribute to its late creative director Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2023 Menswear collection showcased elements of Abloh’s first show in the role. As Louis Vuitton seeks his successor, the Maison too to Paris Fashion Week in the same vein Abloh conducted shows.
The show began with a prelude – a feature that Abloh introduced when he came to Vuitton – titled “Strange Math”. The prelude explored the relationship between reality and imagination, where the Florida A&M University, aka FAMU, performed an all-Black march pre-filmed in Paris’s alternate reality. A button push in a spaceship transported the band to the Cour Carree of the Louvre, where the show was hosted.
A vibrant yellow track, complete with a loop the loop that served as the runway, an ode to Abloh’s 2019 show that the brand called “a yellow brick road for the imagination”. They performed a five-minute routine wearing a mix of FAMU uniforms and Louis Vuitton pieces. Then the fun just got a whole lot more exciting. Models descended the track clad in Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2023 collection while Kendrick Lamar performed live.
The HUMBLE rapper drew the attention of attendees as he began a live freestyle, clad in some of Abloh’s best garments.The runway became Lamar’s playground as he chanted “Virgil” alongside some of his most famous tracks. It was a fitting tribute to the man who changed Vuitton’s Menswear in the preceding couple of years.
It was quintessentially Abloh, and various pieces from the collection echoed Abloh’s legacy in many forms. Key pieces included the soft lilac suit that opened the show, with darted collars, wide shoulders, and slimmed-down sleeves. The suit also featured exaggerated lapels and floral buttons, matching pants, a crisp white shirt, and a chrome mirrored briefcase.
Coats that stood out in the collection included one crafted of brushed mohair and a stunningly simple white overcoat with purple flowers, like those seen in Off-White stores following the designer’s untimely demise.
The show was a huge playground that explored many of Abloh’s tropes that were seen in his previous designs. As much as it was a tribute to Abloh, it also welcomed a new era at the famed Maison.
Images: Supplied
