BTS Graces Louis Vuitton Men’s FW21 Show In Seoul As House Ambassadors
Louis Vuitton presented a Fall/Winter 2021 spin-off collection by men’s artistic director Virgil Abloh in Seoul starring house ambassadors and pop icons, BTS. The group’s participation marks their first official appearance as brand ambassadors as they grace the “stage” at Buncheon Art Bunker B39, an art and culture space. They were previously invited to the Fall/Winter 2021 show earlier this year and wore all Louis Vuitton suits at the Grammys red carpet.
The event features a dedicated moving-image performance by the septet—RM, Suga, Jin, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook—each decked in FW21 pieces. Directed by Korean director Jeon Go-woon, the film stages a conversation between space, movement and the global connectivity central to our moment in time by making use of the venue’s various floors. It also explores the city of Seoul through the lens of diversity. As we move from member to member, they gaze at each other as if they’re conversing and showcase their explosive visuals.
Expanding on the original idea proposed in the Fall/Winter 2021 collection, the 41-look spin-off also included 34 new looks. BTS wore seven looks individually and another seven in a group shot—all of which were originally presented in the performance art film back in January 2021. Shot in slow motion, each member flaunted the pieces as they gracefully move around the industrial venue—echoing the film’s central theme of space, movement and global connectivity. The soundtrack featured an original score written and produced by Cifika, Kim Kate and Net Gala.
See also: BTS Announced As Louis Vuitton’s New Global Brand Ambassadors
BTS and Louis Vuitton’s New Fashion Film Is a Game Changer
If you thought the menswear season had officially wrapped, Virgil Abloh and BTS have news for you. The Louis Vuitton designer surprised the world this morning with the release of a spin-off fashion film dedicated to his fall/winter 2021 menswear collection and modeled by the members of the world’s biggest boy band. Back in April, the members of BTS became Vuitton house ambassadors and have filled their wardrobes with monogrammed pieces ever since. The fashion film marks their first big project for the brand. In the Jeon Go-woon and Park Sye-young directed clip Jin, Suga, j-Hope, RM, Jimin, Jungkook, and V each don a never-before-seen look designed by Abloh as they navigate an industrial space filled with Vuitton-clad models, an illuminated indoor skyscraper, and a seemingly endless maze of staircases.
The futuristic film gets points for originality and its interpretation of each member’s style—those engraved wraparound logo shades never looked as cool as they do on Jimin. Still, its impact goes beyond the visual. Less than an hour after the clip hit YouTube, it had racked up more than two million views, introducing everyone who tuned in to a collection they may have only glimpsed in lookbook images or on social media.
The endeavor wouldn’t be effective without the band’s presence. Fashion shows—and their corresponding advertisements—often rely on celebrities to drum up excitement, but BTS’ Vuitton moment is more than a cameo. When the group was announced as ambassadors, Abloh hinted at a collaboration that goes beyond the band wearing his clothes. “I am looking forward to this wonderful partnership which adds a modern chapter to the House, merging luxury and contemporary culture,” the designer said back in April. “I can’t wait to share all the very exciting projects we are working on.”
Though Abloh remains coy on the subject, collaboration is an essential part of Vuitton’s heritage. Over the years, the brand has joined forces with artists like Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, and Yayoi Kusama, streetwear icons Supreme and Nike, and fellow fashion labels like Comme des Garçons and Azzedine Alaïa. Each collaboration has resulted in sold-out collections and lines around the block. A full-scale BTS collaboration would be a first for the luxury house, and would certainly qualify as exciting. No matter the direction that LV and BTS take with their collaboration, the first of their special projects was a clear success.
Louis Vuitton Mens SS22 Was Virgil Abloh at His Best
Louis Vuitton Men’s Spring/Summer 2022. Paris, France
Editor’s Notes
We have samurais, ravers, RUN DMC-esque tracksuits, new Nikes, petticoats, Black Panther references, shredded skater-boy jeans, luggage — everything but the kitchen sink. This is Virgil Abloh having fun, this is Virgil Abloh at his best.
This season, Abloh embraced the meaning of dressing as the purest form of costumery, delving headfirst into the polarity of subcultures and their archetypes. To fully express the full breadth of this journey — which this collection truly is –— Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of menswear presented a short film along with the runway, titled Amen Break and starring the likes of RZA, GZA, Saul Williams, and Lupe Fiasco.
The film zooms in on the cultural context of these varying subcultures and recontextualizes them in the most Virgil way where references are sampled and resampled. For example, the masculine world of sports fanaticism and its emblematic jerseys meets the world of gender-bending masculinity when the look is completed with a billowing skirt. Then, a B-boy stumbles into the realm of formalwear when a ’90s reminiscent, boxy tracksuit is paired with a top hat.
1 / 32 Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton
Per Louis Vuitton, in this way, “Amen Break becomes a metaphor for the myth of ownership in contemporary creativity,” a theme that is right up Virgil Abloh’s alley on the intersection of streetwear and luxury.
The collection is also punctuated by a rather lackluster new Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1, whose unmerited hype detracted from the collection’s power more than it contributed. But LV easily made up for that disappointment with a rainbow range of luggage and accessories that relied equally on atelier classic and super-modern style cues.
Overall, the collection, and accompanying film, were sublime. And in the end — much like I think Virgil intended — this is a collection for you and whichever version of yourself you choose to present.
Highsnobiety’s Shopping List
Black Panther-Inspired Leather Jacket
Louis Vuitton
Despite a truly spectacular outerwear offering, this jacket stood out for all the right reasons. A boxy leather jacket in venomous green that fades into yellow, the piece features a rave stick-figure across the front. It’s impressive as is, but when the model turned around I actually gasped. A black panther steals across the back becoming one with an equally menacing LV logo. It’s a moment that fully changes the context of the entire jacket.
The yellow and green color story transforms from playful palette choice and into a political reference to the Pan-Africanist struggle and Black nation, which frequently used this color combination. Then the raver graphic reveals its indebtedness to the hip-hop wardrobe.
Tracksuits
1 / 3 Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton
Since we’re on the subject of luxury-to-street crossovers and references to the Black cultural canon, we need to talk about tracksuits.
Abloh really honored the art of the tracksuit with this collection. From billowing ’90s-era B-boy trackies to the more streamlined suits we see on UK grimers, it’s all there. Yet, they’re not reserved to their popular contexts. According to Louis Vuitton, there’s nothing you can’t do with a tracksuit.
Face Masks and Balaclavas
1 / 2 Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton
While most designers this season have made it a point to look forward to the post-COVID days, there’s one thing Virgil doesn’t want us to leave behind: face coverings.
In this “new normal,” face masks and balaclavas are part of a stylish wardrobe and LV SS22 presents us with many options to incorporate this safety precaution into our dressing, from suave to street.