Sydney Shuler | Staff Writer
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January 21 marked the date of the latest news out of fashion house Louis Vuitton: the SS19 Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall Menswear Collection. Celebrities traveled from all over the world to take part in the unveiling of Virgil Abloh’s sophomore collection as LV men’s artistic director.
This collection is the second to be designed by Abloh who is also known as a DJ, music producer and CEO of Off-White. The collection’s clothes speak to Abloh’s take on infancy, adolescence and childhood. “The bigger question for me here is why are we making clothes…what makes men,” the young designer said in a Vogue interview.
The preview video for the first chapter of LV’s menswear spring-summer 2019 was shot by Inez & Vinoodh and was posted to Louis Vuitton’s YouTube page. The video includes infants, toddlers and children all wearing clothing from the new collection. The video is described as being the first of many that will tell the story of Abloh’s vision for the collection.
Abloh’s theme for the collection is a message of inclusivity, with both male and female models featured in the show. In a pre-show interview with LV, Abloh said that he created the collection with the idea of white light hitting a prism in mind. He internalized the way the prism divides the light into individual colors, representing the beauty in inclusivity. Abloh’s stance is one that strikes at the boundaries between fashion and young men. He acted on a vision that people from all over would be able to relate to. He told Vogue, “Every kid in America draws the map with Europe at the center. This is looking at it from another direction.”
The designs defy the ideal concept of menswear. Most of the male models carried bags and satchels in the same way women carry purses; throughout the show these models gradually donned more vibrant and bold colors that eventually turned into patterns. The show began with all models in white clothing, most of which included baggy versions of suits, sweaters, mesh tank tops and dress shirts. White transitioned into earth tones; here viewers saw rapper Kid Cudi in loose slacks, a hoodie and a tan trench coat. Color was then subtly incorporated into the show, with red covering models from head to toe and neons used as accents. The final section of the show – topped off by rapper Playboi Carti – was all about texture: Denim, overwhelming repetitive rose patterns and iridescence.
Abloh orchestrated the LV Men’s Fall 2019 fashion show on January 16 during Paris Fashion Week; this week’s theme was inspired by Michael Jackson and the late pop singer’s philosophy on humanity.
The house of LV has been busy in the first month of the new year. LV’s artistic director of women’s collections Nicolas Ghesquiére created a pre-fall 2019 lookbook featuring actresses, models and newcomers to the house. Some big names include Thandie Newton, Michelle Williams, Donna Bae, Chloe Grace Moretz and Ruth Negga.
Unsurprisingly, the powerhouse that is Louis Vuitton has managed to demonstrate their relevancy to the world of fashion and prove their unyielding creativity as soon as the new year has begun.
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The Hampton Script 