A Brand New Walk

My friend just sent me this video of the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fall-Winter 2021 Collection, helmed by designer Virgil Abloh. I wanted to share it because I think it’s an important piece of work. I wish I could hug the entire team who made it. It’s a great example of a form that has taken this moment in history and gone to an original place using the resources available in this moment. Director Wu Tsang seamlessly utilizes elements of dance, set design, theater, poetry, music, rap, filmmaking, and yes, fashion show, without calling attention to that blending. And I still come away, in maybe the most attentive way I have ever done so, having paid real attention to a collection of clothing. I have a personal story invested in these pieces to the point that if I were to go into a retail store and see them, it would remind me of the experience I had with this film and deepen my experience. In fact, I would go to a store now just to see them because this experience was so tactile for me. And to see the clothes presented more as costume design…to support a larger narrative feels groundbreaking here. I almost wished there weren’t the nods to a traditional runway, but those references eventually became important to remind the viewer that you are in fact watching a fashion show. But I can truly see the idea of ‘fashion show’ now, eventually abandoning the traditions of walking a catwalk as a way of introducing clothes.