Created by Virgil Abloh’s team, Louis Vuitton SS23 was a euphoric parade of childish whimsy
By Bailey Slater | Fashion | 24 June 2022

Louis Vuitton SS23 was extravagant in every sense of the word. To start, there was the lively appearance of the Florida A&M University 100 person marching band, travelling all the way from sunny Florida to inject pep in the step of each and every onlooker present – seriously, watch a video, it was special. A wearable soundsystem fit with slime green LV flower monograms and voluptuous gramophone horns came next. Even fourteen-time Grammy award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar made an appearance in a crown of thorns, lending his punchy flows to a live rendition of Savior from the front row whilst the show’s elaborate dreamworld unfolded around him. Suffice it to say, the spectacle was one of the hottest tickets in town.

Harnessing the truly imaginative power of the house’s late creative director, Virgil Abloh, the house’s skilful Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme team were left in charge of charting a new legacy for the French maison. Having already supported the designer’s far-stretching vision across eight dynamic seasons, this creative hub had no problem fusing brand codes old and new – in particular a penchant for acid-drenched colour palettes and out-of-the-box cuts – with the follies of youth, creating their very own playground outside the Louvre.

Pleated paper planes and sprawling collage prints were the focal points of Vuitton’s divinely tailored suits, fiddling with proportions through curvy, nipped waists and wide shoulders. Deconstructed leather jackets dripped slithers of white and green leather down slender bodies, saddling up to chunky moon boots and frayed denim twinsets, both embossed entirely in LV insignia. Such combinations speak to a sense of childish whimsy, a naivety expressed in neon animal prints and beaded headgear.

The show indulged in tastes both good and bad, mixing shibori dyes with varsity jackets and cream aprons with translucent, cloud-like roll necks. No idea was out of the question, nor deemed too ludicrous, for fantasy was the only currency that existed here. A joyous and colourful procession of models, flanking each side of a sprawling rainbow flag, signalled the show’s end credits. Each crisp hue melted into another beneath the unrelenting Parisian sun, a picturesque parade of craftsmanship and the power of community if there ever was one.

GALLERYCatwalk images from Louis Vuitton SPRING-SUMMER-2023





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