Virgil Abloh's 8th and Final Collection For Louis Vuitton

‘AN OCTOLOGY ACCORDING TO VIRGIL ABLOH.’ COLLECTION 8: IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS.
PARIS, JANUARY 2022.

LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S COLLECTION BY VIRGIL ABLOH FALL-WINTER 2022

“I’m here to be an inspiration to kids that were like me, are like me, that didn’t believe that design was for them. That starts and ends my design mission.” –Virgil Abloh

The final collection from Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton was recently shown on a dreamy runway in Paris filled with emotions. Definition and redefinition are key to understanding the work of Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton. Supported by his seasonal Vocabulary – “a liberal definition of terms and explanation of ideas” – his eight-collection arc is founded in the desire to change our ways of seeing. Using fashion as a tool, his premise lies in decoding the biases associated with the components of human appearance. He wants to recode the way we treat each other according to how we look and present ourselves. One of Virgil Abloh’s most used terms, imagination is what fuels this dream. It’s what drove him to Louis Vuitton and what defines his legacy at the Maison.

Executed in eight parts between 2018 and 2022, the work of the Men’s Artistic Director is never content with simply imagining new clothes and accessories. He seeks to evolve the human values with which we imbue our dress codes, and test how they – as social, political and cultural signifiers – can be used to implement change beyond fashion. Driven by that imagination, the 𝓛𝓸𝓾𝓲𝓼 Dreamhouse™ conceived by Virgil Abloh for Fall-Winter 2022 (Collection 8) serves to condate the themes and messages of the arc he created at Louis Vuitton. It’s an octology that plays out in the tradition of the Hero’s Journey: the age-old story of the underdog, who is tried and tested, and becomes a sensation in the eyes of his spectators.

The coming-of-age story unites the designer with his audience, and allows future generations to mirror themselves in his experience. At its root is his Boyhood Ideology®, the childlike sensibility observed throughout his oeuvre. Virgil Abloh defines the Boyhood Ideology® as the unspoiled outlook of a child, who is yet to be affected by the preconceived ideas of society. He wants to reset our preordained perceptions and start from scratch where clothes are clothes and humans are humans. To cement this methodology, he frames his shows in childlike whimsy: the 𝓛𝓸𝓾𝓲𝓼 Dreamhouse™ of Collection 8, the bouncy castle and build-your-own-kite kit of Collection 3, or the rainbow runway of Collection 1 where it all begins.

Browse all the looks below: