Virgil Abloh’s Final Louis Vuitton Men’s Collection Gets Temporary Residency in SoHo

Stephen Garner
·3 min read
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Louis Vuitton is honoring the late Virgil Abloh in New York City this month.

The French luxury house has unveiled its latest temporary residency at its 104 Prince Street store in SoHo dedicated to Abloh’s last collection. According to the brand, its SoHo store has been transformed with the motifs of Abloh’s work, creating an immersive experience for visitors to explore the men’s spring/summer 2022 collection. A black-and-white checkered pattern on the floor references both the chessboard theme seen throughout Abloh’s collections, as well as the signature Damier pattern invented by the brand’s eponymous founder in the 19th century. Birch trees, like those seen at the Miami spring ’22 men’s Spin-Off show, are positioned throughout the space, interspersed with oversized chess pieces rendered in electric hues.

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A full suite of ready-to-wear and accessories from the collection is on view. Seminal Abloh creations like Millionaires sunglasses, soft trunks, and highly-collectible LV Trainers are available, alongside the late designer’s interpretations of classic Louis Vuitton leather goods like Keepalls and Sac Plats.

The newest LV Tatic sneakers are also on hand, according to the brand. Special gifting items, like skateboards, key chains, and fashion jewelry pieces will round out the accessories offering. In ready-to-wear, a wide selection of vibrant and inventive pieces from the collection will be onsite, showing the influence of everything from rave culture, to sports, to pristine natural landscapes, as well as Abloh’s signature approach to suiting.

Credit: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Credit: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Also set to debut this month is a 10-story mural of Abloh on the façade of Louis Vuitton’s Fifth Avenue flagship. Rendered in neon gradient, the image of Abloh, which was first manifested as a gigantic sculpture for the men’s Spin-Off show in Miami, is juxtaposed against a black-and-white checkerboard pattern that wraps and swirls around the building.

Louis Vuitton’s spring ’22 menswear collection was unveiled in Miami just days after Abloh’s passing. Timed to the kick-off of Art Basel (where the designer had often showed other projects), the show took place on a wharf off the mainland of Miami, where attendees were shuttled to on ferries. As he had done in his very first runway show for Louis Vuitton in 2018, Abloh had prepared a show that included friends both in the front row (Kanye West, Don C, Jerry Lorenzo and Pharrell to name just a few) and walking the runway.

Spring ’22 is filled with electric hues, from ombré jackets, graphic label collages stamped on leather pieces, breezy, color-flecked knitwear, flashy track suits, tie-dye separates and bold-but-sophisticated traditional suiting all the way to rainbow trapper hats, neon tipped lace-up dress shoes and of course, an array of sneakers. The last of which included a series of monochromatic and LV monogrammed Air Jordan 1s but also the brand’s own chunky trainers.

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