If Paris fashion week can be filled with festive gaudiness, the highly awaited Louis Vuitton AW 2022 show – the last by its late artistic director Virgil Abloh, who died in November 2021 — was delivered with a remarkable tranquilly.
It is not just speculation that Virgil Abloh remains one of the most revolutionary designers in contemporary culture. Since his death in November 2021, the industry has battled to come to terms with the loss of someone whose activity seemed to be never-ending and whose sheer presence became the blueprint for a generation of new creatives. With his family’s consent, his final projects are beginning to come to light, including talks and runway shows, all of which have served as poignant reminders of Abloh’s mantra – “You can do it too.”
Virgil Abloh’s final Louis Vuitton show in Paris
The show’s invitation was a woodpecker toy
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Virgil Abloh explored the arts with boundless curiosity, dabbling in fashion, music, and interior design with childlike wonder. This season’s invitation arrived in the form of a champagne box in Parisian hotel rooms. Only when it was opened did it reveal itself to be a wooden woodpecker toy — a charming and forthright homage to one’s inner child, as well as Abloh’s personal symbol of determination and perseverance.
A dreamy house was at the centre of the venue
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A massive pale blue home with a crimson roof and chimney, from which smoke billowed up into the rafters. An orchestra sat at the other end of the hall, seated around blown-up, cartoon-like tables on equally ludicrous stools. Abloh’s use of symbolism is often stark, and here it seemed as if he was deliberately contrasting his childhood home with high society, detailing exactly how far he had come and offered all of us a seat in the process.
There were star cameos
Members of Abloh’s atelier and the wider team gathered onto the stage instead of the usual cameos — think Goldie, Evan Mock, and Hector Bellerin. As the score concluded with a touching rendition of Tyler’s 2017 “See You Again,” these broad musical influences, manned by various groups of individuals from all around the world, symbolised Abloh’s emphasis on community and togetherness.
There was a spiritual element
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In the same way that the show followed Abloh’s coming-of-age narrative in abstract narration, themes of spirituality and transience emerged. The entire show was dreamy and certainly divine, yet this was no exaggeration.
Some new pieces created by the fashion visionary
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Check out the gallery for the Louis Vuitton AW22 collection created by the legend Virgil Abloh.
All Images: Courtesy Louis Vuitton and Getty Images
Anushka likes to write about fashion, beauty, and other nice things. When not bound to her keyboard, she likes to make her Pinterest boards come to life.
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