A good litmus test for whether I will find someone interesting or not is to ask them how they feel about Virgil Abloh being named the new men's wear designer for Louis Vuitton. If they seem even remotely less-than-thrilled, then I know there is no room in my circle for such a clown.
For everyone over here on the excited side of things, knowing every detail about Abloh's transition into the LV brand is essential. Friday, the official LV Instagram was generous enough to fill its Stories with clips of the Off-White founder answering a run of questions ranging from his earliest LV memory to the most recent thing that inspired him.
"Going to the store in Chicago, Illinois and there was this wallet that Pharrell used to have, it's like the Wapity, it was called," Abloh said of his earliest brand memory. "I still own it today." For the record, the Wapity is indeed worth remembering. It features a signature monogram canvas and is still a trendy accessories case to rock with any fit. Pharrell and LV also have a longstanding relationship that’s well-documented in the press. Nearly 15 years ago, he was personally asked by Marc Jacobs (who was then LV's creative director) to put together a line of LV eyewear in collaboration with Bathing Ape's Nigo.
Off the top of his head, Abloh's personal favorite collaborative LV work is the art they crafted with Stephen Sprouse. "I felt like, it's me in a nutshell," he said, noting that he most often finds inspiration for his own work in random street items and his "amazing amount of inspirational friends." His most recent inspiration, however, came from a delivery worker with a "cool pair of jeans" mere seconds before this interview was conducted.
With his new role, Abloh said he's looking forward to the establishment of a "new vocabulary" that simultaneously touches on youth, modernity, and our attachment to the past. Catch the full clips over on LV's Instagram Stories.
Lest we forget, he also has an understandably hyped IKEA collab in the works that he hopes will provide "new solutions for a millennial's first home." It's a damn good year to be Virgil Abloh.
