For his first collaboration with Louis Vuitton since joining as creative director, Virgil Abloh has merged his talent with the vision of Japanese designer Nigo, producer, DJ and founder of streetwear label BAPE.

Their respective styles have come together to produce LV², a compound fusion of streetwear codes from opposite ends of the world that pay tribute to Louis Vuitton’s sartorial heritage. Spanning ready-to-wear, footwear and accessories, it’s a comprehensive debut collaboration for Abloh, who masters the art as well as anyone else in the industry.

While largely tailoring-focused, LV² never strays far from the streetwear references that both Abloh and Nigo have made their signature. The Daimer check for example, a staple of the house in its early days, is here re-imagined by the two designers, cut out, embroidered or printed – on shirts, jackets, trousers and bobs. Nowhere is it more striking than a full look of denim pieces, a material that features heavily throughout, which combine the Daimer check with the signature monogram print.

On the suiting side of things, Abloh has taken the essence of the UK Mod look and, with the help of Nigo, re-interpreted it through a Tokyo lens. The same goes for the bags: Keepall, backpacks, cross-body and weekend styles, which remain similar in terms of shape but updated with prints and patterns that repeat throughout the collection. The release will be twofold, with the first drop coming on 26th June and the second almost two months later on 28th August.