Brand: Louis Vuitton
Season: Fall 2021
Key Pieces: Clear standouts include a host of splashy tie-dye garments — from technical jackets to skirts — and a cleverly quilted suit. More subtle, however, are the various leather accessories printed with handwritten "Marque L. Vuitton déposée" text and an illustrative checkerboard pattern sourced from founder Gaston-Louis Vuitton's personal scrawl.
Buy: Louis Vuitton
Editor's Notes: As Virgil Abloh reinvents house codes, he introduces new ones. Consider the tie-dye patterns that Abloh tweaks and toys with each season: they were rendered organic for Spring/Summer 2020 and reinvented as watercolor for Spring/Summer 2021.
For the house's Fall 2021 capsule — not to be confused with the Fall/Winter 2021 collection — the rainbow hues are again given new life as Monogram Sunset, an optimistic smear of color that iterates a sunny, smiley mood that feels cheekily cheery amidst the otherwise restrained color palette.
There's ample tailoring on hand in the new imagery, highlighting the refined cues that form the basis for much of Abloh's tinkering. Sophisticated double-faced wool topcoats and quilted blazers mingle with technical anoraks and quilted skirts, some imagined in that new Monogram Sunset tie-dye pattern concocted exclusively for this collection.
Subtle surprises abound: supple leather jackets are 3D printed and furry harrington-style jackets can be reversed to reveal a scratchy checkerboard print. Thick ceramic pins pierce sweaters, mirroring the chunky chains that inform the shape of bi-color jewelry and droop from the glossy Soft Trunks and Keepalls.
Beefy woven hats and scarves up the cozy factor while new editions of the LV Trainer take on monochrome shades and multicolored laces to match the other funky fare.
