Highsnobiety
Double Tap to Zoom

Typically speaking, runway shows are about the clothes. Yet Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2022 runway show felt like something a whole lot bigger. On an emotional evening in Miami, friends, colleagues, and family paid tribute to Virgil Abloh, bringing the curtain down on a stellar career and even greater person.

Virgil tragically passed away on Sunday, but as is typical of the man, he appeared to be creating right until the very end. Posting on Instagram, Vogue writer and collaborator Anders Christian Madsen revealed how they had been texting on Saturday night, putting the final touches to the show notes.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

The event opened with Virgil talking about a return “to childhood wonderment" — a repeating red hot air balloon motif interpreted by some as a metaphor for ascension to the afterlife — and ended with another soundbite:

Life is so short that you can't even waste a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do, versus what you can do.

Watching videos of the closing fireworks, there's a kind of mesmerizing emotional finality to it all. It's easy to be skeptical when people talk, often euphemistically, of "celebrating" a life — particularly when it's concerning someone taken so cruelly at such a young age — but it's certainly applicable in this instance. Virgil was here, he achieved so much, and the world is a better place because of him. His is a legacy that will echo down the ages.

A bonafide moment in fashion history, people around the world tuned in to say their goodbyes. See some highlights and reactions below.

Highlights

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.
Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.
Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.
Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Twitter post.
Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Twitter post.

Reactions

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Twitter post.
Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Twitter post.
We Recommend
  • The Brand-New Biggest-Ever Louis Vuitton Store Is Also So Much More (EXCLUSIVE)
    • Style
  • The Man Behind Air Dior & Dior-kenstocks Is Off to Pharrell's Louis Vuitton (EXCLUSIVE)
    • Sneakers
  • Jay-Z Is Out Here in Louis Vuitton Timbs? Deadass
    • Style
  • Pharrell's Tiny Louis Vuitton Bag Is a Secret Millionaire Flex
    • Style
  • It's Louis Vuitton to the World
    • Style
What To Read Next
  • G-Shock Is Going Back in Time With OG Watch
    • Watches
  • adidas Samba's Long Tongues Really Stick Out
    • Sneakers
  • INVINCIBLE Went to North Face's Past for Clean Outdoor Gear of the Future
    • Style
  • With Human Made x Clarks, NIGO's Other Footwear Dream Comes True
    • Sneakers
  • 20 Years of Retail Genius Deserves an Archival Stone Island Masterpiece
    • Style
  • Nike's AJ12 Re-Release Is A Ghostly Beauty, If We've Ever Seen One
    • Sneakers