Times are changing at Louis Vuitton. Today, Kim Jones, Vuitton’s longtime menswear designer, proved that the French luxury and heritage brand is living in the now.
The brand’s style shift that caters towards a younger, sportswear orientated clientele was already marked by its surprising collaboration with the New York-based high-street skater label Supreme for fall-winter 2017 season. And this time around for Spring Summer 2018 on the Paris runways, this shift is emphasised by a collection of decisively urbane and athleisure – flavoured menswear. The models – a youthful mix of young men of differing origins – hit the runway on a brand new soundtrack made for the occasion by Drake - a millennial favourite.
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Another striking element of Jones’ obvious will to rejuvenate the French maison were the 80s inspired surf culture references. The Hawaiian shirt was a particularly recurrent element and it came in lush and warm tropical colours, showing a willingness to take Louis Vuitton’s inherited wanderlust to more warmer – and trendier – shores.
‘’Someone gave me the book Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Not Visited and Never Will. And I realized I’d been to about all of them!’’ said Kim Jones in an official release. ‘’ I thought of specific islands - New Zealand, Easterns Island, and especially Hawaii - but I was also inspired by the idea of an island and of travel. Of moving easily from place to place, and experiencing these different pockets of civilization, theses different identities simultaneously”.
We break down the show to seven outstanding outfits:
1. Here’s the formal-not-so-formal look: grey twill paper bag waist pants paired with an LV branded long sleeve turtleneck surf top and a striped poplin grandad collar shirt worn under a single breasted twill jacket. Let’s not forget the Monogram flower necklace, flower magnet earring, travel bag and clogs. We’re not really sure if this LV model is leaving the office for the beach or the other way round.
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