.BRAND DNA
* Louis Vuitton Men´s Collection SPIN-OFF
Designed by the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme
written Mark Ashkins
Our planet has as many grains of sand as there are stars in the galaxy, yet to a child, this vastness is never daunting. It is an invitation to opportunity. In sandboxes and on beaches, children build sandcastles: structures born of their imagination that turn dreams into reality. For the Spring-Summer 2023 Spin-Off show in Aranya – designed by the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme – the Maison builds on the idea of the magnified playground first introduced in Paris in June.
The Mirage prelude, a collaborative effort by Chinese directors Jia Zhangke and Wei Shujun, who also serve as directors of the show, explores themes of childhood, discovery, and community. The prelude was filmed in Dunhuang, on the edge of the Gobi Desert, which was once a frontier garrison on the Silk Road. The story transports its viewers to Aranya beach, where the live show unfolds in a sandscape created with the tools that are the foundation of a collection based on the limitless possibilities of craftsmanship.
The Upcycling Ideology was created to help us break away from the images of obsolescence that lead to too much stuff, overproduction and waste. With each season, Louis Vuitton takes a different approach to their collection. Now, they are made up of “pieces that make looks” instead of “looks that have pieces in them”. Through the lens of the Upcycling Ideology, work can be recycled, upcycled, and even reissued in its original form. Ideas – the very foundation of fashion – are no longer disposable, but part of an eternal cycle of inspiration, codes and values that continue to help us understand and expand our ethos. The Upcycling Ideology is exercised across fabrications, techniques and themes in a way that uses previous seasons as a foundation, instead of individual entities. This is done in order to keep up with the fast pace of time and to document the things that are learned from repeating gestures.
The essence of Louis Vuitton is imagination. It is a visible representation of our aspirations and ideals, possessing the ability to revive, renew and inspire us. The Spring-Summer 2023 Men’s collection was designed and created by the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme: a continuously developing community of imaginative individuals, who welcomed Virgil Abloh to the Maison in 2018 and expanded during his eight seasons of artistic direction. A living proof of his ability to bring people together, they populate a creative playground with a history of over a century.
watch full show:
