Louis Vuitton to Open an Exhibition for Virgil Abloh’s Nike Air Force 1s Collab Ahead of Official Launch
Louis Vuitton is celebrating the launch of its collaborative Nike Air Force 1 collection designed by its late artistic director Virgil Abloh with a new exhibition.
From May 20 through May 31, all 47 editions of the sneaker style imagined by Abloh will be exhibited in the showcase, dubbed “Louis Vuitton and Nike Air Force 1 by Virgil Abloh,” at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn, NYC.
Open to the public, the expansive showcase offers an in-depth view of the sneakers the late designer created in the summer of 2021 for Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2022 menswear show.
According to Louis Vuitton, all 47 pairs of the sneakers will be exhibited in motion on magnetized walls and in holographic displays animating the shoes with cues to the breakdancing rooted in the hip-hop culture inseparable to their legacy.
What’s more, the exhibition will be wrapped in a vivid orange and adorned with a logo fusing those of Louis Vuitton and Nike. Walking around the exhibition, guests meander a giant version of the logo reflected in a mirrored ceiling. They are surrounded by 3D-printed statues akin to the ones Abloh built during his tenure at Louis Vuitton, framed by walls painted in the clouds, characteristic of his show sets and campaign imagery.
And, during the run of, large glass boxes will be placed around New York City that will display graphic globe sculptures tied to the themes of the showcase. The five instillations exhibited throughout the city can be experienced at Domino Park, Grand Central, South Street Seaport, Astor Place, Columbus Circle, Flatiron Plaza, and Gansevoort Plaza.
The event will coincide with a number of corresponding art installations around the city and will culminate with the June retail launch of nine editions of the sneaker. According to Louis Vuitton, the nine styles were all manufactures in its Fiesso d’Artico facility in Venice, Italy.
The launch includes the classic all-white sneaker embossed with the Louis Vuitton Monogram, and a riff on the same design in black suede. Two-tone editions in white with either green, red or blue detailing nod at the rainbow motif key to the work of Abloh at Louis Vuitton. Likewise, a metallic gold sneaker pays homage to the designer’s debut collection for the maison, while patchworked multi-color renditions celebrate Abloh’s distinct graphic language. Finally, a Damier edition is adorned with a “Louis Vuitton” graffiti motif created by the artist Ghusto Leone.
This exhibition and launch follow the February auction of 200 pairs of the sneakers to benefit The Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund.
