Louis Vuitton Men’s SS23 Spin-off Show Takes to the Beaches of Aranya
Delivering the first fashion show hosted by a luxury house in China’s new hotbed for fashion.
Continuing to stand at the forefront of fashion, Louis Vuitton took its Men’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection to Aranya for a spin-off show. Serving as the first fashion show hosted by a luxury house in the coastal community stretching over three miles of beaches in Beidaihe, China, the presentation upholds late Artistic Director Virgil Abloh‘s vision to create the varied expressions of tomorrow building on the artistic community of Aranya, a destination known for art exhibitions, music festivals, and landmark architecture.
Reimagining the spanning beach, the fashion house created 320 meters of toy racetrack-inspired catwalk between two key sites, the Lonely Library and the Community Hall. Adding another installment to the magnified playground, first introduced in Paris back in June with a design by the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme.
The show started with a cinematic prelude titled Mirage, by Chinese directors Jia Zhangke and Wei Shujun, who also served as directors of the show. Shot in Dunhuang in the Gobi Desert, the film explores a poetic contemporary meeting of East and West, leading to Aranya, portraying themes of childhood, discovery, and community.
Fueled by musical direction by Benji B which brought live scoring by Beijing-based instrumental band, Sleeping Dogs, the show presented 10 additional unseen looks. The childlike fantasies of the magnified playground are reflected in the symbols of childhood that mark garments including origami paper planes, building block beading, playdough textures and tones, cartoon prints, and sandbox tool embellishments. While swoopy lines and shrunken or oversized dimensions, explore grown-into and outgrown silhouettes that reference ’90s skate style. An ever-growing “under-construction” sensibility is reached to develop a youthfulness in the process of growing.
The “under-construction” element is continued with toolbox components showing up as scissors, tweezers and clamps three-dimensional embroidered pendants. Marking the symbols of expert ateliers of the Maison and the painstaking savoir-faire that develops fabrics, embroidery, hand-beading, hand-crocheting, Shibori tie-dye, leatherwork, and technological ingenuity.
Virgil’s adoration of the power of music is presented with two SpeakerMan looks that incorporate wireless loudspeakers into backpacks, blasting the sounds of the show. Evoking a sense of togetherness tied to the harmonious nature of the speaker in culture, also a nod to the shared appreciation for loud music at the Louis Vuitton Studio Prêt-à-Porter Homme, where a speaker can be found in every corner.
French romanticism is displayed through images of flower fields coming in the form of impressionist paintings transformed into tapestries and prints. The symbols of diversity are accompanied by depictions of thistles on fabric weaves, prints, and embroideries, a nod to the bouquet growths at Louis Vuitton’s ancestral home in Asnières. Finally, a photo montage of the Maison and the city it calls home are prevalent throughout the collection.
Louis Vuitton Scenography at Aranya
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Louis Vuitton
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Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
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Aside from the attendees from diverse cultural spheres, Louis Vuitton extended show invitations to 100 young people from Aranya’s local communities. Faithful to Virgil Abloh’s emphasis on inclusivity, the guests wore T-shirts dyed in colors of the rainbow emblazoned with “June 21 2018,” the date of Virgil’s first Louis Vuitton show.
Take a look at the Louis Vuitton Men’s SS23 spin-off show in Aranya, China above.
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