An Attempt To Reimagine The Future

Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director, Virgil Abloh, explores the unconscious biases instilled in our society, and continues to reimagine dressing codes in the Fall/Winter 2021 collection

- Virgil Abloh

For Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2021, men’s artistic director Virgil Abloh continued his exploration of reimagined dressing codes. In his previous fall collection for the luxury house, the artistic director broke down the pattern of clothes we currently wear, and the way we wear them.

Abloh looked into archetypes that personified our dreams and aspirations as children like the artist, the salesman, the architect, and the drifter. It’s these characters’ personalities and dress codes that the designer wanted to challenge this season. At the heart of it, the message — simple but strong — is creating the same opportunities, dreams, and freedom for children of all races, genders, and sexualities when asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Their familiar uniforms reflect our understanding of ambition, talent, and lifestyle. Fashion is a tool for shaping these identities. Dress the part. But subconsciously, our collective view of those characters is still connected to archaic attributes of race, gender, and sexuality.