Louis Vuitton’s men’s ad campaign for F/W 2020 was shot by my favorite photographer on earth, Tim Walker. I adore his surrealistic approach to photography, transforming every photo in a piece of art. Below you can read about the inspiration behind the campaign and the collection imagined by the Maison’s Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh.
Black Imagination: The transformative process of rethinking and overturning the inherited and often unconscious expectations tied to Black identities through history, and creating an encouraging Black consciousness for the present and the future.
The utopian idea of «Heaven on Earth» creates the framework for the Louis Vuitton F/W 2020 Men’s campaign. Photographed by Tim Walker, the images widen the collection’s surrealist lens through the metaphorical language of clouds. Applying his ongoing premise of Boyhood – seeing the world through the unspoiled eyes of a child, Virgil Abloh employs clouds as a symbol of freedom, unity and peace. Evading constraint, territory and possession, they are dreamlike bodies floating across a sky observed universally across borders and beliefs.
The title of the F/W 2020 collection, «Heaven on Earth» is an image of the core values embodied by Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton: a dream world that transcends prejudice as an objective to inspire inclusivity and unity-in-diversity through his work. It is underpinned by the overarching philosophy of Black Imagination and the continual imbuement of Black representation
within fashion, luxury and beyond. Shot in London, the campaign lends its platform to young creative talent from across the arts, featuring the likes of British actor Michael Ward and Ghanaian model Ottawa Kwami as part of its cast.
The collection studies the anthropology of the suit and the reprogramming of traditional dress codes. Virgil Abloh investigates the lifelong relationship formed by adolescent and young men with shirting and suiting in a material and figurative exercise in freedom, presented within the familiar constrictions of tailoring. The firm symbol of convention, trade and success, the tapered silhouette departs its corporate comfort zone. Twisted and turned, the dress codes of an old world are neutralised, re-appropriated and embraced for a progressive joie de vivre.
Isn’t it so impressive to explore how much work, inspiration and thought went into one picture.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: © Louis Vuitton
DISCLOSURE: This post is NOT sponsored. I just adore the photos.
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht, Stills and Ad Campaign Photos: Courtesy of Thomas Sabo