Virgil Abloh Reveals His Design Philosophy for Louis Vuitton Menswear—Where Else?—On Instagram
Typically, after a new designer is appointed to a brand, the machinations and goings on in the design studio are kept secret until his or her first show. Not so at Louis Vuitton’s menswear operation, where Virgil Abloh has already started to shake up protocol by debuting a short film of him working in the atelier today on the house’s Instagram Stories.
In the short clips, one can see Abloh arriving at LV headquarters with an LV x Koons bag and unpacking his personal supplies—many of which are Apple products—in an office complete with an LV x Supreme carpet. If those opening clips don’t send you into a state of hypebeast hyperventilation, you then hear Abloh unpack his philosophy on his first menswear collection for Louis Vuitton. “The biggest goal with, like, a first collection in any scenario is to sort of start, so that people can sort of understand the new vocabulary, who we are as this new team,” Abloh says in a voiceover. “What will be the introduction into this new vocabulary is this sort of, like, universal but non-oversized fit.”
The video continues to show Alboh working in the atelier, sketching what looks like a new LVM—Louis Vuitton menswear—crest or scarf, and filing through blurred-out images laying across the studio floor. “Because I think that’s the problem we have now in 2018 is everyone owns every type of garment already. What’s our signature twist in terms of things that you already have in your closet as to why you would buy it again?” he asks, after explaining that he wants to explore “the lineage of craftsmanship in the trunk. I want to introduce a hardware that’s native to the garments.”
Abloh’s first collection for Louis Vuitton men’s will debut at Paris Fashion Week this June, but based on what we know already, it will be a clever interplay of heritage and the designer’s signature subversions. Keep an eye on Vuitton’s social presence for more clues.
