It’s been less than a year since Virgil Abloh took on the role of artistic director for Louis Vuitton’s men’s wear department. But the young designer has continued to kill it with every collection he’s dropped so far, and the just-unveiled Pre-Fall 2019 line keeps that trend going strong. In an interview with Vogue, Abloh explained his intentions for the new line and its casual-wear functionality, stating “The pre-collection was a safe haven to test out ideas, to start defining that palette.”
Inspired by the Tokyo motorsport aesthetic, the uniforms of Japanese public service workers, and topped off with an accessible and functional athleisure twist, the new Louis Vuitton line features outerwear, trousers, t-shirts, accessories, shoes, and the now infamous harness that we saw Timothée Chalamet rocking at this year’s Golden Globes. Jamiroquai was also a significant influence on the line — which explains the hats — but less so for his fashion and more for his deft skill at synthesizing musical genres.
In a promotional video by Louis Vuitton, Abloh delved deeper into his influences for this collection and his desire to push our pre-conceived ideas about luxury fashion via a wild mixture of contrasting aesthetics. From the outerwear of the great outdoors to the utility of uniform fashion, boyhood’s influence on menswear, and even Abloh’s own debut LV collection, the pre-fall line boasts some truly great outerwear and interesting accessory concepts.
Using what Abloh has dubbed “accessomorphosis” and “compressomorphosis” the accessories in this collection fuse to other garments or compress down for travel ease and include a crossbody messenger, tote bags, and a more traditional backpack, while the shoes show influence from Abloh’s time in the sneaker game. Even if Abloh’s ideas and concepts are a little heavy-handed and hard to understand, it’s fascinating to hear how much thought he put into it so we recommend taking a look at the artsy promo video here.
Take a look at Abloh’s full Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall menswear collection below and decide if it’s time for you to cop a purse.
