Louis Vuitton never fails to bring fresh, innovative visions when it comes to runway fashion and Virgil Abloh certainly didn’t disappoint when presenting his Men’s Fall-Winter 2021 Collection as a multi-disciplinary artistic performance.
Named Peculiar Contrast, Perfect Light, the fashion show was streamed live on January 21 from the Tennis Club de Paris.
Directed by Wu Tsang and Josh Johnson, the film is theoretically informed by novelist James Baldwin’s essay, Stranger in the Village, noting his experience as the first black man to live in Leukerbad in Switzerland and nearly suffering a breakdown as a result of feeling alienated. Parallels have been drawn from this to the way black Americans are treated in Western culture.
Featuring an all-star cast of artists, the opening scene presents Saul Williams emerging from a snowy mountain landscape, before ice skaters break the transition into an airy, gallery-like space, with a flux of modernist marble walls and mirrors. The abstract stage represents the author’s shifting emotions.
As Williams walks through the set dressed in a black oversized coat, clutching a silver briefcase covered in the LV monogram, the dreamy music introduces powerful literature: “Make it up to me. Take down the walls. Deconstruct the narrative. Unravel the mystery. Make space for me.” Poetic words are spoken by Kai Isaiah Jamal, the first black trans model to walk for Louis Vuitton: “As Black people, as trans people, as marginalized people, the world is here for our taking, for it takes so much from us.”
Staging a 15-minute-long performance exploring themes of radical identity and cultural appropriation is quite a task. “Being one of the few designers of colour that shows on the Parisian schedule, in a way, I’m a figurehead for a movement for diversity,” explains Abloh. “I frankly don’t want those things to just be a moment.”
It’s been almost two years since Abloh was appointed the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection in March 2018. Expressed in poetry, dance and music, his sixth collection, Ebonics, maybe his most impressive yet.
Immersed in emerald greens, neutral tones and pops of red and brown, the collection imbues new meaning into the uniforms of archetypical characters, such as the writer, artist, drifter, salesman, hotelier, gallery owner, architect and student. Abloh manages to upturn tradition by reimagining classic dress codes, employing fashion as a tool to change predetermined perceptions of these familiar characters.
Exclamatory accessories, such as the Attache, Keepall and Christopher backpack bags, are awash with fluorescent statements and neon outlines. Items are ripe for reinvention with reflective surfaces and textural illusions; leather bags appear as if made out of newspaper print and different takes on the iconic monogram motif can be seen imprinted on silver textile.
Abloh remains faithful to Louis Vuitton’s genuine love and ‘Art of Travel’, with an original monogram bag taking the fresh form of an airplane. His infamous slogan, ‘Tourist vs. Purist’ returns this season, defying society’s established cultural structure of outsiders versus insiders. Viewing himself as both a tourist, who’s eager to learn, and a purist, who’s knowledgeable about everything, Abloh’s proven to be the outsider who’s become the insider in the field of high fashion.
Ending the show is music from the American rapper, Yasiin Bey – also known by his stage name Mos Def. Viewers are able to find beauty in chaos as the characters shift themselves around the crowded room, almost as if on the subway commuting to and from work, or navigating through the streets of a busy city – something that seems very foreign in our current climate.
The catwalk finale brings individual insight to each piece in the collection. Floor-length coats are layered with slim tailoring, draped wraps, kilts and Western hats, highlighting the mix of cultures, as well as Abloh’s exploration of his own African heritage. “When I grew up, my father wore Kente cloth…to family weddings, funerals, graduations,” he said. “When he went to an American wedding, he wore a suit. I merged those two together, celebrating my Ghanaian culture.”
A designer’s role in fashion can pave the way to create not just a runway show, but a work of art. Abloh has done just this through the immersive lens of menswear – challenging heavy dialogues and making clothes in the face of the Black Lives Matter movement, all within the limitations of a pandemic. The lack of a physical audience due to COVID-19 doesn’t hinder the creativity of the concept; it ironically amplifies the intimacy of the narrative.
In the search for symbolism, this collection is a beautiful example of using fashion to make a statement and create critical moments of change for a future that’s undecided.
All images in this article are courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
