You’ve changed, man
From swapping cities to Virgil’s new era at Vuitton, it was a season of shake-ups in menswear. Simon Chilvers reports
SHORTS like miniskirts. Headto-toe neon. The Wizard of O z . We l c o me to spring/ summer 2019 — a season of shake-ups. Louis Vuitton unveiled its first collection by Off-White creator Virgil Abloh. Dior Homme became Dior Men under Kim Jones, previously at Vuitton. Raf Simons returned to showing in Paris from New York. British menswear champion Craig Green left his home town to show in Florence. Basically, it was all go!
Two days before his Vuitton debut, Abloh is talking about “accessormorphosis”. He explains: “It’s where ready-to-wear morphs into accessories.” The opening look at his show, a white doublebreasted suit that underlined
Abloh’s desire to prove that he’s more than just a streetwear designer, came complete with a harness and mini zip-up bag.
His appointment to Vuitton is “evidence of the transition of the new guard in fashion putting its stamp on the now”, he says. Abloh grew up loving catwalk drama by the likes of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. His runway was a rainbow, with world maps on the guest’s seats pinpointing where all the mod- els in the show were from. It was a timely statement about inclusivity. There was also plenty here for the Instafashion generation. If you’ve ever desired trousers featuring the silhouettes of Dorothy and her companions from Oz, Abloh is your man.
His “accessormorphosis” concept was dotted throughout the collection, often in neon. As were a slew of sneakers — likely to be the hit items here — including a basketball hi-top with branding etched in gold along the side. The bags themselves, some transparent, some with chunky neon chains, didn’t always nail Vuitton-level luxury but it will be interesting to see what comes next.
At Dior, Jones cleverly moved away from streetwear to focus on the couture roots of the house. Friends such as Kate Moss rubbed shoulders with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld. There was a lot of love in the room. Mr Dior himself was the key inspiration, from a Toile de Jouy motif modelled on the wallpaper from the first Dior store to florals inspired by china owned by the designer. The suiting was excellent, the cut impeccable. These are clothes destined for the red carpet.