It was a beautiful moment that felt bittersweet. It was a celebration that was also a goodbye. One last stop inside the mind of a genius and the people’s hero. The Louis Vuitton men’s spring-summer 2023 show took place at the Louvre museum in Paris because it did. It was a work of art. Titled “Strange Math,” the runway for the show featured a multi-level twist, a long straightaway and a loop and acted as a visual manifestation of the hope-filled imagination of the late Virgil Abloh. But also reminiscent of a level from Super Mario Kart. Attended by a Who’s Who of the fashion and music worlds, the show opened with a marching band performance from the Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, dressed in unique Louis Vuitton versions of their uniforms. Models then took to the runway as Kendrick Lamar performed the musical accompaniment, periodically chanting “Virgil forever.”
According to Louis Vuitton, the Spring-Summer 2023 Men’s Collection was “conceived and created by the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme,” Maison’s creative community. A department that was around before Abloh but was greatly expanded during his tenure at the brand. As such, the assembled collection was a beautiful artistic deliverance of a group of people who were/ are all vibrating on the same wavelength. Beginning with a range of soft grayish suits with white LV-monogrammed bags, the collection then flowed into bold florals across the line of jackets, trousers, coats, and such. As is a theme we saw in a couple of other men’s shows this season, neon colours made an appearance, and bright, bold colours spread throughout.
Aside from the colour palette, what was most interesting to see was the shapes, with jackets and pants coming in a wave warped shape, leading the eye continuously up and down. The accessories were again on point, including all the leather goods, plus a lot of oversized logo embellishments reminiscent of 90s rave culture. Pay special attention to the very excellent-looking combat boots and, of course, the hard af sneaker game the house has been excelling at as of late.
From the 70+ odd looks, our favourites are the soft yellow and baby blue duffle, the orange and white varsity, the floral embroidery jacket, and the all-orange monogram workwear look.
While these are our favourites, be sure to give the entire collection some time as it is a beautiful work of art, worthy (maybe) of its appearance at the Louvre.
We highly recommend you watch the whole show: