American designer Colm Dillane stirred things up at the French fashion house’s recent FW 2023 showcase in Paris
By MW Desk
It was arguably Paris Men’s Fashion Week’s most anticipated show: Louis Vuitton’s sparkly new men’s creative director Pharell William sending 70 looks down the French capital’s iconic Pont Neuf. Physically, everyone from Jay-Z to Rihanna relished their close friend’s debut collection. Virtually, the show garnered a cool 1 billion views — the highest ever of its kind.
For the past decade, the French fashion house has carefully picked its menswear designers —disruptors like Kim Jones and the late Virgil Abloh who laid bare the idea that luxury, heritage, and street can go hand in hand. Most recently, post the demise of the great Abloh, and before Williams aroused audiences with his fantastical showcase, Colm Dillane came to stir up things for LV’s FW23 collection.
The founder of the hitmaking, streetwear brand and creative studio KidSuper had the chance of a lifetime to put out a menswear line for one of the world’s biggest fashion players. And Dillane took it very seriously. True to his collaborative personality, whimsical nature, and love for colourful fashion, the American brought a bit of Brooklyn to Paris, while cleverly crafting a collection that kept Abloh’s legacy burning as much as it highlighted LV’s inimitable craftsmanship.
Think of a mashup of classic tailoring and modern-day puffer tracksuits; witty messaging referencing black culture and letters penned by LV team members to run on silhouettes; brightcoloured faces patchworked on monogrammed casual wear; spray-painted graffiti on neutral colours. At every level Dillane added the whimsy to luxury fashion, actioning Abloh’s message that it’s important to remember the child that resides in all of us.
The set — a maze of rooms in a house — mimicked the journey of every man, from his childhood to adult life. Created by filmmakers Michel and Olivier Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Dave Chapelle’s Block Party), the bright runway was lined with heritage Louis Vuitton trunks, brimming with childhood toys, as singer Rosalia amped up energy levels. While individual looks popped and made you look twice, thanks to LV’s unmatched luxurious techniques and KidSuper’s playful aesthetic, the collection had a feel of deliberate incoherence, as if Dillane was telling us where’s the fun if it’s always by the book
Reproduced with permission from Mansworldindia.com
