Louis Vuitton Is Now a House of Scamming

Humans are dreamers. We wake up everyday not only thinking about our current lot in society, but where we could be if all the doors and shackles that hold us back were removed. If life let us just walk into any room and make shit happen. Welcome to the life of Louis Vuitton’s newest artistic director of menswear: Virgil Abloh.

Abloh is an occasion DJ (though he told the New York Times he’ll be doing less of that); professional Kanye West stander-byer (Bloomberg’s headline said it best: “Louis Vuitton Hires Kanye West Consultant as Menswear Chief”); and last year he even received a lovely insult by Calvin Klein designer Raf Simons last year in a GQ interview. (“He’s a sweet guy. I like him a lot actually. But I’m inspired by people who bring something that I think has not been seen, that is original.”)

The American designer is also a known fashion troll particularly through his Off-White label, which sells basics for exorbitant prices (this cotton hoodie for $614, for instance). Last year, Abloh collaborated with Nike, where he repurposed classic shoe silhouettes and simply stamped the word “Sole” on the sole, or “Shoelaces” on the laces. Deep art shit.

On the other hand, Louis Vuitton isn’t above the same inspired trolling, as when Kim Jones debuted a collaboration between Louis Vuitton and New York streetwear label Supreme (here’s a leather jacket for $22,500). It was an ultimate moment that showed just how much the luxury world is cribbing from the streetwear roots of designers like Abloh. So perhaps Abloh at Vuitton does make perfect sense? A celebrity-loving fashion troll and a luxury label that craves relevance at almost any cost. Scammer dreams can come true!

Correction: A previous version of this story said the laces on Abloh’s Nike collabo were marked “Laces.” In fact, they are marked “Shoelaces.” Jezebel regrets the error.