Virgil abloh
LOUIS Vuitton
A cultural agitator with a civil engineering degree from the university of wisconsin and an ma in architecture from the illinois institute of technology, Abloh heralds a much-needed shift to fashion’s established order, joining balmain’s olivier rousteing as the only other black artistic director of a major luxury house today. After working as creative director for kanye west, Abloh founded the bestselling streetwear label off-white in 2013. reviews of his louis vuitton debut trilled with excitement about this new voice in paris. the collection riffed confidently on the house’s luggage legacy as shapes from its iconic leather goods were translated into box pockets on cotton shirting. Standout pieces featured embroidered scenes from The Wizard of Oz, echoing Abloh’s wonderment at his own journey. the musician dev hynes, actor kid cudi and painter lucien Smith walked the show alongside a diverse cast. on each seat lining the rainbow catwalk was a map of the world with dots pinpointing the birthplace of each model and their parents. titled ‘we Are the world’, it offered ‘a global view on diversity linked to the travel dna of the brand’, Abloh wrote on instagram. A thousand design students stood excitedly in the audience, wearing specially created t-shirts marking the event. ‘like some kids today, i started the surreal mission without “fashion school” but [with] a blank t-shirt, a screenprinted idea for it and a dream,’ Abloh added. follow the yellow brick road.