Lucien Clarke Reveals Signature Louis Vuitton Skate Shoe
The Virgil Abloh-designed silhouette is the first skate shoe in LV’s 166-year history, and is accompanied by a Thrasher advert.
Lucien Clarke has taken to his Instagram to reveal a signature Louis Vuitton skate shoe. Marking the first piece of skateboarding footwear in the French fashion house’s 166-year history, Clarke’s new kicks were designed in collaboration with Virgil Abloh — who also posted the announcement — and are accompanied by a full advert in Thrasher.
From what can be seen in Clarke and Abloh’s teaser posts, the design channels puffy early ’00s skate silhouettes with a layered mesh-and-suede upper that features Clarke’s full name scrawled on the lateral midfoot, a LV hit on the tongue and a contrasting heel tab. Midsoles are thick, semi-translucent, connected by a molded midfoot plate and feature three LV monogram graphics towards the heel. A final LV stamp also appears on the rear of the outsole. Both black/orange and green/grey colorways were teased by skater and designer. In Clarke’s image carousel, he also shows off a Palace skate deck partially adorned with LV graphics.
Apart from his on-board exploits, the Jamaican-born, London-based, Palace-sponsored Clarke has also modeled in Louis Vuitton lookbooks, walked in its runway shows and been the face of many Palace campaigns. Further information about his signature LV silhouette — price, release date etc — has yet to be revealed, but the partnership is undeniably significant, and may well open the floodgates for even more skateboard-centric product from high fashion brands.
For more news on upcoming footwear, check out the latest installment of HYPEBEAST’s weekly Best Footwear Drops list.
