Live from Paris: Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Spring/Summer 2022 Collection

Abloh serves us tracksuits, quite literally

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

When you think of Paris, you think of Louis Vuitton. Artistic Director, Virgil Abloh has knocked it out of the park again with the men’s spring and summer 2022 collection. After the hard year of 2020 going into a lockdown for months, quarantining, and working from home, Abloh has designed elevated sportswear that can be worn basically…anywhere.

In this collection, Abloh doesn’t want you to choose between wearing either suiting or athleisure wear. He wants you to have the best of both worlds and he exceeded every expectation.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

“I always work in polar 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,” the designer told WWD during a break from shooting his collection film at a movie studio north of Paris.

“So these polar 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.”

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

The collection is conducted in true Abloh fashion, incorporating a host of guest stars and collaborations. If the 53 pages of show notes that include a multiple-choice test weren’t exciting enough, rumors of a surprise announcement on the day of the show added to the anticipation.

The film released by Louis Vuitton takes you on a journey through a desert where two Japanese Kung-fu-inspired characters dressed in all black enter a portal into a universe that is white as snow, filled with birch trees. Models, dressed in neon trench coats and tracksuits, start to emerge from every corner, walking through the slender trees. And as they start to stare at each other, time stands still.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

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 artists GZA, Goldie, Saul Williams, Lupe Fiasco and Shabaka Hutchings, an ongoing celebration of Black creative talent for Abloh.

In addition to appearing on the soundtrack, the opening song is a new Goldie track called “Dassai Menace” — the storyline of the film merges references of 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.

Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

The jackets were paired with pants that fell 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.

Last season, Kai-Isaiah Jamal became the first Black transgender model to walk for Vuitton.

Poet and activist Kai-Isaiah Jamal models a look from Virgil Abloh’s spring 2022 men’s collection for Louis Vuitton. Courtesy of Kuba Dabrowski/WWD

“To change one’s mind is maximum human,” said Abloh. “I’m questioning anything, and the answer is conundrum because that’s who we are. We don’t fit in a box.”

To take a look at the innovative film, watch below:

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