For a creative director whose styles generally look to the future, it seems that Nicolas Ghesquière has focused this season on a much more contemporary issue: American politics. And yet the first look to appear on the runway with “Vote” across the chest was both a nod to Election Day as well as a push towards life after November 3. The Jane Jetson silhouettes and modular accessories in the collection accelerated a glimpse of what we’ll be wearing this spring.
As each brand redefines what fashion means in a pandemic world and counts on racial justice, not only does the runway require appropriate social distancing, but designers must also distance themselves from the past. According to Louis Vuitton’s runway notes, the collection was “a delicate area that erases genre and promises exponential creative possibilities.” Ghesquiére admitted that this is only the beginning of the exploration of non-binary designs in the famous Parisian house. He asked the following questions: “What does a halfway garment look like? What type of cut can dissolve the masculine and the feminine? What wardrobe could he look good in?”
In his journey to create a fluid collection, he drew heavily on skate culture, both literally (the word real has been tagged on more than a few shirts) and figuratively. Baggy pants were cinched at the waist, much like real skaters fastening their pants with laces, utility jackets reminiscent of Carhartt hoodies were thrown over bodycon dresses and shorts were cut to the knee with prints Sleek graphics, like something you’d like to spot on the teens hanging out on the outskirts of Tompkins Square Park.
The show’s attendees, who obeyed CDC guidelines with the required masks, included Alicia Vikander, Laura Harrier, Venus Williams, and more. Given that the brand’s influencer roster includes real skaters – Evan Mock had his own likeness displayed at Louis Vuitton flagship stores and he paraded the Virgil Abloh runway in 2019 – so we wouldn’t be surprised if the mark continues this story. For now, let’s start saving for these skate shirts and hope we don’t get called posers.
-Advertisement-
