Virgil was here.
Virgil is here.
Virgil Abloh’s latest collection for Louis Vuitton showed in Miami at Marine’s Stadium on the 30th of November. In a moment of collective commemoration in honor of a genius who left us too soon, the eyes of those present spontaneously turned to the sky. But that’s not the place to look for Virgil. Virgil is always here, among us. It’s where you push yourself to go beyond limits, beyond surfaces, dig deep and go beyond the obvious. Unhinge dogmas. It is where the cards are shuffled, where the impossible blends in an extraordinary way, greatness requires everything, and Virgil’s legacy will be with us forever. Virgil gave us a precious gift—his creativity. He left us a unique teaching, challenge, and challenge yourselves.
As Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Virgil was one of the best cultural communicators of our times. He paved the way for future generations. He was an eternal optimist who believed anything was possible. He used the platform he had to break boundaries, to open doors, to shed light on his creative passions, art, design, music, and of course, fashion, so that everybody could see inside. Not only to dream of being part of that world but to also find ways to make that dream a reality.”
Indelible.
The Louis Vuitton show was a sort of re-see of the already unveiled Spring 2022 menswear collection, featuring some new looks. Besides being called a spin-off, this show is, above all, a part of the collection arc that continues to evolve and shape the Louis Vuitton Maison.
“Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself.” – Virgil Abloh.
The collection is a final mark to erase the prejudice on how to dress based on how society’s ideas push us to think while growing up.
“I want to delve into the notion of the ‘un- designed’: creation conceived in the land of Tourists rather than the land of Purists.”
The rule-breaker attitude of Abloh pours out on futuristic garments and makes them the only real storytellers. No longer simple garments but spokespersons of a manifesto which Abloh leaves us a posterity, a task of carrying out. Destruct and reinvent.
“I’m not made for a podium, but I’ll design a podium that ushers in systemic change.”
The garments in ombré rainbow fadeaway treatments have been like a flash in the sky, as the rainbow print was in the first-ever show of Virgil for Louis Vuitton in 2018, and now this looks like a circle that Virgil wanted to close. In the same way, he began, he ended.
The tribute three-story tall statue of Virgil Abloh watched everything, watched us, and his sight was projected to the future. A future where he imagined young generations could decide how to live their lives without prejudice and dogmas. Virgil Abloh was an icon for a lot of people who had the chance to cross his path and for young people who saw him as a lighthouse in this tricky life. Use less of your mind and more of your heart and imagination.
“When you’re lucky enough to get a ride to the penthouse, it’s your duty to send the elevator back down.”
Virgil taught us a lot, not only on a stylistic level but, above all, on a spiritual level. Abloh has always wanted to include allegorical elements in his fashion shows, and this latest one had to be an optimistic ode to what is marvelous, to the desire to know, curiosity, and discover. Art, fashion, music, design are open portals to new horizons. The collection is reminiscent of a game of chess, with two entities battling each other. The high hats, the long skirts, the chromatic contrast of neon colors are a tribute to the world of chess, but it is Kendo that we must think about when we see the padded vests and the armor-plated puffers parading.
Japanese warriors challenge each other in chess, metaphor, and transposition of life. The new fetichè are the 3D bags in crocodile leather airbrushed with soundwaves, the glitter bags, embossed monogram leather piece, hand-painted t-shirt, the tracksuit, and in the reinterpretation of the iconic Damier print.
Virgil’s legacy comes from his own words spoken over the music during the show “There are no limits. Life is so short, and you can’t waste a day chasing what someone thinks you can do instead of really knowing what you can realize. “
Virgil’s legacy comes from his own words spoken over the music during the show “There are no limits. Life is so short, and you can’t waste a day chasing what someone thinks you can do instead of really knowing what you can realize.”
Virgil was here.
Virgil will always be here.
