Designer Virgil Abloh Clarifies His Famed Accessory (Worn by Michael B. Jordan) Is Not a Harness

There has been a lot of debate over one very specific Louis Vuitton menswear accessory popping up on the red carpet this season. Is it a harness? A bib? Thankfully, the man behind the design, Virgil Abloh, has finally come forward to set the record straight.

Celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Michael B. Jordan have been seen sporting these high-fashion pieces at this year’s Golden Globes and SAG awards but even the actors did not know exactly what to call the style. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the Chalamet told the host that he was told the said harness was a bib. “I thought it was a bib. They told me it was a bib”. As for the Black Panther actor he wore the accessory on a whim. “Why not? It was just like f—k it. I’m going to do it,” he told Variety.

But in a recent interview with Vogue, Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s men’s collection artistic director, confirmed that the piece is neither a harness or a bib, referring to the designs as “mid-layer garments.” And while they may be new clothing accents to the public eye, they have actually already made an appearances in some of his designs for his first Pre-Fall collection for the French fashion house.

Abloh’s custom luxe piece actually already made it’s debut on the Met Gala carpet in 2018 and it was the very first thing he had designed. “It doesn’t have the comfort or the security of a jacket, but it’s somehow empowering,” he said of the hot new accessory.