The relentless Virgil Abloh, creative director for Louis Vuitton, is determined to ignite a beacon of creative hope in a less than ideal beginning of the year. After spending 2020 setting up special projects in Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo, and creating products for a just cause, Abloh raises the curtain on 2021 with what we could define as a festival of Louis Vuitton’s menswear, mainly designed to launch his F/W 21 collection. Abloh’s so-called Walk In The Park will take place between January 8th and 31st and will be a combination of public, physical, and digital experiences conceived as the ultimate expression of the bond between the designer and his community. Where? For the occasion, a temporary exhibition space has been set up inside Louis Vuitton’s headquarters on Rue du Pont Neuf, on the banks of the Seine, offering visitors the opportunity to discover sneakers and accessories from Spring/Summer 2019 to Spring/Summer 2021, coinciding with the release of the latter. The residenza will provide the rare chance to obtain reissued and new limited-edition versions of the most iconic sneakers, jewelry, and sunglasses created for the maison by male artistic director Virgil Abloh. Full-fledged collectibles, the selected models are those constantly coveted by the global community formed with Abloh’s arrival. Throughout the store, the models are color-coded in the shades of the rainbow, a reference to the set of Abloh’s debut show for Louis Vuitton for S/S 2019.
Gregoire VIEILLE
A hall of fame dedicated to the five rarest and most exclusive editions of LV Trainer sneakers offered for S/S 2019, as well as a comprehensive retrospective of the LV Trainer model across past seasons. An opportunity not to be missed for all collectors. From January 8th to 15th, the latest LV Trainer Upcycling model from S/S 2021 will be available for purchase in 5 new colors, including an exclusive Paris colorway produced in only 95 pieces.
In addition to the sneakers, rainbow Cuban link chain jewelry and 1.1 Millionaires sunglasses, a model originally designed by Nigo and Pharrell Williams in 2004 and reinterpreted season after season, will be displayed and available for purchase at this temporary store.
For those unable to travel to Paris for the physical presentation, good news: from January 15th onwards, press, buyers, and clients around the world will be able to experience a bit of Abloh’s Walk In The Park through an augmented reality app. Expect appearances of the cartoon characters Zoooom With Friends, which Abloh introduced last year as part of his extravagant S/S 21 show. After all this, perhaps the most important thing to know is that the Louis Vuitton F/W 21 menswear show will take place at the end of January in Paris, concluding the artistic director’s Walk In The Park program. The brand promises to provide more information soon.
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