A CELEBRATION OF LIFE AND LEGACY
LOUIS VUITTON PRESENTED ITS MEN’S FALL/WINTER 2022 SPIN-OFF SHOW FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN THE MAISON’S BIGGEST EVENT TO DATE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. RIGA RAMADHAN REPORTS
Maison Louis Vuitton recently presented what was arguably the most highly-anticipated fashion event of the year. After its runway debut in
Paris in January, the Louis Dreamhouse finally landed in the vibrant city of Bangkok, Thailand, back in June, with the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall-Winter 2022 Spin-Off Show.
Circularity has always been essential to the late Virgil Abloh’s design language, as many fans of the brand will probably know by now. The Men’s Artistic Director’s legacy at Louis Vuitton is built on arcs, including the notion of coming of age, the global viewpoint, and the creative cycle. Circular motifs are used at the Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2022 Spin-Off Show in Bangkok to explore these concepts.
Moreover, the show itself consolidated the motifs and sentiments of the eight-season arc Abloh designed for Louis Vuitton and was almost like a recreation of the ethereal Fall/Winter 2022 collection he originally unveiled this year. The show this time, however, introduced nine previously unreleased looks, which are added to the lineup.
Entering the Pinnacle, ICONSIAM, where the runway show was being held, guests are greeted by Louis Dreamhouse²—a new squaring of existing ideas and imaginary spaces. In a way, it manifests in a physical but surrealist sphere where everything is circulated: the sun orbits the set as models travel in a circular passages and instruments float like planets in orbit, suspended in the dreamy ether.
It’s safe to say that the surreal architecture successfully blended together dream and reality states, and is informed by the designer’s Boyhood Ideology, which he defined as seeing the world with the unspoiled eyes of a child.
“We might go to India or Kansas or Cuba, but wherever we go the focus is youth: the stage in your life before you’ve been taught or programmed to do, think, or wear certain things. And in that study, you realize that teenagers on opposite sides of the world are
“With a magnificent set and performance, the legacy brand known for leisure and travel paid tribute to Virgil Abloh. It was unquestionably a wonderful sequel”
dealing with the same things. It reflects the fact that, fundamentally, we are all one,” Abloh once famously said of his vision.
Interestingly, there’s also a showing of “I Dreamt of You,” a cinematic prelude created for the show’s digital audience, which portrays the aforementioned Boyhood Ideology that is key to the philosophy of Virgil Abloh through the lens of director Sivaroj Kongsakul. Based on the filmmaker’s childhood memories, the story that was presented to the guests before the runway started follows the formative experiences of an 11-year-old boy in rural Thailand. In short, it is an illustration of a belief integral to Virgil Abloh’s worldview, that youth itself is global.
Collection-wise, the Bangkok show, aptly titled 8.2, also offers a continuation of and showcases Virgil Abloh’s exploration into the idea of boyhood, reimagining clothes and societally dictated dress codes through the aforementioned unspoiled eyes of a child, in the hopes of breaking away from such societal archetypes in the modern age.
This particular ideology informs a collection that tears up and transmutes the dress codes popularly tied to societal archetypes—tailoring, sportswear, dresses—and patchworks them in new ways. On top of that, Abloh’s last collection for the French luxury fashion house also features whimsical printed separates, sculptural hats, and many more.
Of particular note, we can see the Puffy Damier where the Damier squares have been blown up and the leather given an incredibly soft hand. You can also recognize the Damier checkerboard motif, the Louis Vuitton Monogram flowers between each square, and a more visible Louis Vuitton signature on the pieces.
The Ellipse backpack, which is a popular model in the Maison in the ’90s, has been revisited to convey a masculine and sporty look. There’s also the Blurry Monogram, the climbing details which come in the shape of LV Monogram flowers, and the Monogram Chess that reinterprets the maison’s historic Damier signature in a chessboard motif that unites Monogram with transparency.
All in all, the Louis Vuitton Men’s FallWinter 2022 Spin-Off exhibition in Bangkok builds on its initial presentation in Paris and genuinely displayed a surrealist realm of circularity. With a magnificent set and performance, the legacy brand known for leisure and travel paid tribute to Virgil Abloh. It was unquestionably a wonderful sequel.
The entire presentation further addresses the essential ideas that are at the heart of
Virgil Abloh’s work and legacy, which will undoubtedly inspire fashion enthusiasts for many years to come. We can safely state that the collection will be regarded as a remarkable new wave of creativity and that we sincerely admired the genius that is Virgil Abloh.
In the end, as it marks the very first time that Louis Vuitton has travled to Southeast
Asia for a spin-off show, the star-studded event became a truly fitting celebration of the late Virgil Abloh’s legacy and was nothing short of spectacular. Au revoir, Virgil...