Fashion has found itself in a new world. One ravaged by coronavirus, yes. But also one that's prompted a self-reckoning. The Black Lives Matter movement, with its rallying cry of global social justice, has called out to the fashion industry too, to rightly demand change, to rightly demand a fair place for Black and minority ethnic voices at fashion's table. And, following a spectacle of a show in Shanghai, Louis Vuitton is poised to make a brave one of this new world.
Under the city's overcast sky, an expectant crowd (yes! A real proper locals-only crowd!) armed with iPhones and tickets-cum-hand fans filled a municipal harbour on the Huangpu River, scarlet shipping containers (monogrammed, of course) edging the makeshift arena.
Then, the grind of steel bolts echoed around the show space. The containers opened. And, from within, emerged the first real life model, besuited in a beige two-piece, and a continuation of the louche tailoring creative director Virgil Abloh leaned into last season. Meanwhile, theatrical extras carried oversized clouds and soaring gulls onto the gangway.
More models padded forth, Louis Vuitton both literally and figuratively landing new stock, unpacking its wares as the fog of coronavirus partially dissipates. Clothing, it seemed to say is returning. As the speakers played what sounded like The Beach Boys performing live in an Ace Hotel elevator, impossibly sharp suits continued to snake across the harbour, neutral shades cementing Louis Vuitton as a gatekeeper of classicism as much as it is a blazer of trails. Get you a brand that can do both.
Slowly, the staunch, stiff tailoring relaxed into something looser, and yet, something still familiar as the cloudscape prints of last season returned on luggage, glittering shirts, baggy trousers and sweats. Vuitton's skies are blue. What a wonderful world. Everything, finally, back to normal.
Except it isn't. A sudden change of pace marked the show's second chapter, one ushered in by warlike drums as Chinese dragons in crimson and violet snaked through the harbour. The skies may be blue, but the world below it is not the same. A shipping container slowly folded open to reveal a screen upon which a live recording of Lauryn Hill played, her impressive back catalogue remixed but still recognisable as subsequent looks made a clean and clashing break with the former half of the show.
Punchy checkerboard prints covered ankle-length overcoats, magenta trousers sat under electric blue shirting, structured anoraks were jolted by a shock of thunderbolt yellow. This new world is bright. It's sustainable too, with many looks created from recycled materials. It's also very fun. Virgil Abloh finds endless ways to repurpose the house monogram, and the standout here was twin LV diamonds used for the lenses of a pair of sunglasses. Behind them, an inflatable dragon clearly in the throes of an acid trip (a nod to a cartoon presentation a few months back) clung to the back of a besuited model. It was a techniclour marvel indebted to The Wizard of Oz, which Abloh sees as an allegory for his own journey into fashion, according to the show notes: "a hypnotising wonderland of inclusivity and unity... [imagined] through the untainted vision of a child not yet spoiled by societal programming."
As a clean slate suit in an immaculate shade of ivory closed the show, Ms Hill, back to the peerless form of her Miseducation days, announced that, on behalf of her performance, Abloh and Louis Vuitton had made a donation to the MLH Foundation to provide assistance to Black businesses hit by coronavirus and other hardships. And then, the creative director himself spoke. As a video showed him wandering through an undisclosed woodland, the 39-year-old spelled out the show's intention. "What you have witnessed today is not a mere musical performance, or another fashion show. What you've seen is Black imagination manifesting itself in real life."
And, though Ms Hill's seminal classic of irreconcilable heartbreak 'Ex-Factor' boomed out at the show's apex, Louis Vuitton is by no means hung up on its past. The brand is looking ahead. "It's important for us to make sure this opportunity is extended to more Black men and women all around the world," Abloh continued. "And intently, what you've witnessed is a sign of more to come."
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