With its video “Message in a Bottle”, Louis Vuitton embarks for Shanghai

Louis Vuitton presented its latest men’s ready-to-wear collection on Friday afternoon, through a video shot in its historic workshop in Asnières, north of Paris. And the venerable house took the opportunity to announce that in the coming weeks, the collection will travel to China.

Entitled “Message in a Bottle”, this new concept of presentation – imagined by the artistic director of the house’s men’s ready-to-wear, Virgil Abloh – consists of unveiling the collection gradually, in separate chapters. A new format which, according to him, emphasizes “fundamental values ​​of diversity, inclusion and unity”. And if the video was shot especially for the occasion, the collection itself is largely made up of new models cut from Louis Vuitton materials from previous collections.

The video is one of 68 virtual events broadcast during this new kind of Fashion Week that began on Thursday. Due to the pandemic, the five-day season takes place exclusively on the Internet, without any public parade.

There is something quite comical about this first glimpse of almost four minutes. The video opens with two young movers in pale blue overalls printed “LV Team”, loaded with a heavy box marked “Pont Neuf Ideation & Global Logistic Corporation”, a nod to the head office of the briefcase in Paris, which overlooks the first bridge in the capital.

Once the body is loaded into a truck, a band of cartoon rockers appear and start the machine; the driver is dressed in a spectacular black and white monogrammed check suit, with an LV rosette at the collar. A lion, also wearing the LV monogram and with four-leaf pupils, walks through the frame. A caravan of colored trucks then begins a long journey through the capital, skirting the Louvre, the Center Pompidou, the Arc de Triomphe; finally, their containers are loaded onto barges which descend the Seine.

Arriving at the Pont Neuf to open a bottle of champagne in front of LVMH’s luxurious Cheval Blanc hotel, which will soon open in the old Samaritan, the adorable drawn characters bow, all covered in playful versions of the famous monogram. All accompanied by a superb soundtrack from the SA-RA Creative Partners ™ trio, composed of musicians Taz Arnold, Shafiq Husayn and Om’Mas Keith.

Virgil Abloh, who joined Louis Vuitton in 2018, dubbed the video “The adventures of Zoooom with friends”. The short film ends with a green dragon flying in a Vuitton chest, which reads “VAA” on the top, and “LV Global” on the side. The result of a collaboration with animator Reggie Know and seven storyboard artists, the clip gives a cheerful tone to this new concept of the Parisian brand.

“By making his collection cross the oceans, Virgil Abloh addresses the entire Louis Vuitton community, and sets out to meet his customers in their own region of the world. Throughout his journey – stages may be added along the way – the collection will turn into an informative exchange between cultures and countries. It is a free and inclusive dialogue between the house and its audiences, which transcends the traditional rules of fashion and seasonality, ”said Louis Vuitton in a statement.

The first stop is scheduled for Shanghai on August 6, with a cast of Chinese models. The last stop is expected to take place in Tokyo, where Louis Vuitton has opened a store – the first in the world – which exclusively distributes its men’s ready-to-wear.