Music has always been a central part of
Virgil Abloh
’s creative practice. He’s been deejaying since he was a teenager, spinning at house parties around Chicago and its outskirts, and he just released his first original production in the form of a
collaborative EP
with Berlin-based producer Boys Noize earlier this year. He’s delved further into both the worlds of music and fashion over the past few months?
Louis Vuitton
announced earlier this year that Abloh would be taking over as artistic director of its men’s collections (replacing Kim Jones), and he just debuted his new
Beats 1 radio show
on Apple Music this past Monday. He even has the show’s setup, including turntables and a mic, installed at the LV headquarters in Paris.
Unsurprisingly, Abloh’s
first Louis Vuitton show
, which took place today at the Palais Royal, also found him incorporating this lifelong interest in music in the proceedings?artists like
the Internet
’s
Steve Lacy
,
Dev Hynes
,
Kid Cudi
, and
Playboi Carti
all walked the runway in the first Abloh-designed LV threads. Lacy
donned
a sheer white shirt and some rave-ready pants; Hynes
walked
in a subtly quilted off-white trench; Cudi
wore
a pale mint green hoodie; and Carti
looked
ready for a trip to the moon with his iridescent duffel bag and cellophane-esque poncho. And to top it all off, Abloh came out after the show to do the usual congratulatory walk down the runway and ended up sharing a
tearful hug
with his friend and frequent collaborator Kanye West. Abloh is clearly inspired by his multitasking musician friends, but with the unveiling of this new collection, it seems that the feeling is truly mutual.