A simple, large “8” adorned the invitation to Louis Vuitton’s men’s fashion show on Thursday afternoon. Which is of course formally correct, after all it was Virgil Abloh’s eighth collection for the French luxury house. Only that it would also be his last, neither he nor anyone else had guessed when the designer started working on it. In November, the only 41-year-old American with Ghanaian roots died of a rare cancer. Accordingly, the fashion world had now traveled to Paris – despite a less than chic incidence of 4000 – to pay tribute to his last works.
It was already clear that this show would be the highlight of men’s fashion week. But how light, poetic and even humorous it would be was surprising. The guests sat in the “Louis Dreamhouse” that had been set up in the hall of the Carreau du Temple. A filleted dream house in sky blue, here a huge bed, there a long staircase, next to it a roof with a smoking chimney and a long table at which a string orchestra of at least 30 people was seated. “Humor is a gateway to humanity,” was the show’s motto, a quote from Abloh. Not taking things too seriously, adding a few fun dents to the golden cage of fashion with his designs was typical of Abloh’s approach. So the first models in white hoodies let themselves fall down the stairs and spring back onto the steps from a hidden trampoline. Again and again, the models turned out to be dancers who stopped abruptly, sank to the ground and jumped back to their feet in an acrobatic manner. Stop motion as with the rewind button. If only we could turn back time!
Sales will go through the roof
What constitutes Virgil’s eighth prank in the end? Above all, strongly surreal-looking accessories, such as a classic brown logo suitcase, but in a wavy shape, as if you had a kink in the optics, or small round handbags with the typical design of a paint bucket, only now with a Louis Vuitton sender and corresponding price tag. Transforming normal everyday objects into extraordinarily successful designs was Abloh’s most conspicuous signature, which had made him one of the most sought-after designers of recent years, so that in addition to Louis Vuitton and his own label Off-White he also worked for brands as diverse as Mercedes, Ikea , Nike or Vitra designed. He is said to have completed the majority of the collection himself, and there were no lack of references to earlier collections, so there was a tiered tulle skirt again, like the ones he had designed for women before, there were college jackets, baggy trousers with short, sharply cut jackets and attached lace Icarus wings.
To be completely honest, you could of course have shown something else in this collection. If tomorrow’s really good customers are allowed to place orders in advance, the sales figures will go through the roof. What still reaches the light of the shop counter will be sold out in record time. Since Abloh’s death, demand and prices for his designs on resale platforms have skyrocketed. The French luxury shopping platform Vestiaire Collective said that searches for shoes from its Off-White brand alone had increased by almost 500 percent. It is therefore not surprising that Louis Vuitton has already announced that there will also be a new, final version of the cooperation with Nike for the Air Force 1 sneaker. The first 200 pieces with a double logo print will be auctioned at Sotheby’s from January 26th. Starting price: 1760 euros. Proceeds go to a fund that Abloh set up to support black design students. Later, a limited number of pieces will also be available in stores. At least for a short time.