Virgil Abloh has been appointed the new artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear, following the departure last week of Kim Jones.
This raised polarizing comments and point of views and some said that Louis Vuitton is following Balenciaga footsteps. One industry insider doesn't think so. Susanna Nicoletti, one time leader of LVMH, Richemont and Kering say,
"It's not. Balenciaga was relaunched thanks to the work done by Nicolas Guesquière, who developed an uber modern version of Cristobal codes. The successor Alexander Wang didn't fit with the brand but helped transforming it into a streetwear brand (sneakers anyone?) and, following a time of uncertainty, Kering decided to appoint Demna Gvasalia, an excellent fashion remixer to revamp the brand and make it grow. Gvasalia just transferred what he was doing at Vetement in the brand and made a phenomenon out of it. A hot topic. A must have. Hit products of the season. But, what would be today Balenciaga without Gvasalia? A white canvas?"
Demna and Balenciaga are in sync. Gvasalia’s exploration of close-fits and loose silhouettes follows the steps of Balenciaga himself, who was probably one of the first designers in the west to appreciate the spacious and oversized. They perfectly complement each other for now and both are commercially and critically successful. Demna has pushed the brand on and his fashion language has become universally accepted.
"On the opposite Louis Vuitton integrates Virgil Abloh in an established company where the Brand comes first. And it doesn't need any designer to revamp it The Brand with clear values, codes, style opens the door to a "creative contributor" who will help the Brand to explore new paths for the Men's collections. At the end if it won't work for long, what would be Louis Vuitton without Abloh? One of the top luxury brands in the world."
It’s called ‘The Power of Provocateur’, and the inimitable Teyana Taylor shows us how it’s done, in the tempting allure of the yellow Anna set from the new season collection.