Louis Vuitton FW23: the blurred vision of a bright future

Following Virgil Abloh’s surprise death in November 2021 and the presentation of the designer’s eighth and final collection for Louis Vuitton in January last year, the design team of the men’s division took the helm of the maison. Although a permanent creative director has yet to be announced, Colm Dillane, the founder of KidSuper, has been the visionary behind the presentation of Louis Vuitton’s FW23 men’s collection.

Designed by Louis Vuitton’s in-house Prêt-à-Porter Homme team, the brand’s FW23 men’s collection has marked a new era for the maison. “Louis Lifewear” is infused with the iconic elements of Colm Dillane’s imagery – flowing suits, bold colours and artistic graphics – combined with Virgil Abloh’s Vuitton basics. The nostalgia of the child who wants to be an adult is perfectly captured in each of the garments of the collection, which was presented at the Carré du Louvre under the model of a house and with Rosalía singing inside a live car.

Each room of the house is impregnated with the childhood memories of the Gondry brothers, and the models parade and intervene in each room to the rhythm of Rosalía. Captured in a cinematic prelude that opens the show, the collection culminates in an adulthood shaped by the memories and experiences of early life and the idea that our inner child is ever present. This is embodied in oversized tailoring, workwear silhouettes and technical streetwear garments “as if a child of the nineties was dressed in the uniform of their everyday dad”.

As members of the first generation raised in super-connectivity, Louis Vuitton’s Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme researches and evaluates the impact of the digital age on fashion. This concept is also reflected in “Louis Lifewear” with motifs, techniques and fabrics that reference television, cinema, cyberspace, screens and cameras. From a cryptographic pattern that resembles encrypted coding, to a TV motif made of pearls and sequins or a blurred eye that cannot be seen with human eyesight.

Coat-within-a-coats, which is the effect of overlapping two coats, is very present in the collection. Cryptographic patterns appear in jacquard tailoring. Denim arrives worn or patched, while metallic detailing is a nod to the TV universe. Leather goods reinterpret the Maison’s iconic material and knitwear arrives in three-dimensional diamonds. Multi-positioning permeates the poplin shirts, and of course, the biker trend is also present.