Virgil Abloh went hip hop again and took inspiration from the Rock Steady Crew for LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S SPRING-SUMMER 2022 collection and DROPS Air Force 1 Collaboration with Nike a year before the 40th anniversary of the shoe. How much are you willing to pay for this dancing sneaker that had classics. With tailoring and track pants? Streetwear is here to stay. 

LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S SPRING-SUMMER 2022

Men’s wear is not ready to go back to the office yet. Unless it has the alternative edge. Fashion has shouted back by finding the middle ground of slouchy suiting and elevated sportswear and  Virgil Abloh has mixed the two in a dapper high-end luxury street cool.

LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S HIP HOP HORRAY

His spring Louis Vuitton men’s wear collection, unveiled online today has the streets going crazy because of the drop of the Air Force Ones. On the occasion of the Louis Vuitton SS22 men’s runway show, Nike and Louis Vuitton Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh partnered to create new expressions of Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 silhouette. Louis Vuitton and Nike partnered to create new expressions of the iconic Nike Air Force 1 trainer, fusing the codes of the French Maison with the Global sportswear company. 

Like sneaker culture, the collection is also gender-bending. The collection toggles between a new, feminized version of formal dressing and rave gear.

“I always work in opposites and I’m always dialoguing with the formality of Louis Vuitton and the contemporariness of youth culture today — almost like a generation discovering luxury again, and I’m the conduit,” 

“So these opposites are the suit and the tracksuit. I was thinking about that: the day job and the night job, the raver and the businessman,” he continued. “I’m not choosing between one or the other. My signature is both.”

The Show 

Titled “Amen Break” — after a famous drum sample that influenced hip-hop and became the foundation for electronic music genres like drum ‘n’ bass — the film features musicians GZA, Goldie, Saul Williams, Lupe Fiasco and Shabaka Hutchings, in a continuation of Abloh’s ongoing celebration of Black creative talent.

LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S SPRING-SUMMER

In addition to appearing on the soundtrack — the opening song is a new Goldie track called “Dassai Menace” — they play characters in a storyline that melds references to martial arts and chess. “It’s based on ‘Lone Wolf and Cub,’ which is a classic Japanese kung fu film that is about a father protecting his son,” said Abloh.

This was another hip hop moment. A section of the set juxtaposes a forest of birch trees with a replica of the dojo founded by Fiasco’s father on Chicago’s South Side. The chess theme nods to the cover of GZA’s seminal album “Liquid Swords,” as well as Vuitton’s signature Damier motif. GZA’s creative directed the music. 

LOUIS VUITTON DROPS Air Force 1

The designer, in turn, orchestrated a human game of chess, with rainbow club kids — in neon-coloured earmuffs, spray-painted leather coats and jackets made from a patchwork of flyers — facing off against the new-gen suits: think sharp-shouldered cropped jackets with belts pierced with coloured metal pin hooks.

“This idea of puncturing through is how a trunk is made. It’s like an identity thing, and I wanted to get away from the LV logo, which is obviously what everyone knows, and develop a piece of hardware that when you see it, over time, you start to recognize that that’s Louis Vuitton too,” he said.

The jackets were paired with pants that pooled around the ankles or long skirts and dresses that referenced everything from kilts to kendo uniforms.

“My generation doesn’t believe in that hard line between gender. It’s, like, look at my fingernails, you know what I mean?” he said, flashing nails painted neon pink on one hand, and silver glitter on the other.

That gender-fluid spirit was captured by Kai-Isaiah Jamal, who last season became the first Black transgender model to walk for Vuitton. The poet and activist channelled both faces of the collection for a new generation. 

For sneakerheads, this collection came with accessories for our sneakers. Sneaker boxes to pack your sneakers has replaced the LOUIS VUITTON trunk. This is a genus because Virgil Abloh has reinvented the brand to speak to the sneaker culture. The questions are how much will they cost? And will you Cop or not?