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Virgil Abloh Pays Tribute To Michael Jackson In His Latest Collection For Louis Vuitton

Photo credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis - Getty Images
Photo credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis - Getty Images

From ELLE

The invite to Virgil Abloh's second menswear collection for Louis Vuitton was a tell: a white diamante-encrusted glove. A video of it was posted to Instagram with the caption, "There's only one." Michael Jackson would be theme of the fall collection.

So how does that play out in Abloh's mind?

The show opened with intro to "Thriller." The first grouping of models zig-zagged the runway, a recreation of the intersection of Ludlow and Rivington Sts. in NYC's Lower East Side, in shades of grey: double-layered suit jackets, military-inspired shirts, and puffer jackets and vests.

Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images

In an interview with Interview Magazine, Virgil said he listens to Michael Jackson in his studio for inspiration.

"My next Louis Vuitton collection is going to be based on Michael Jackson," he said, "and when I have Michael singing in the background, it’s a different type of shirt, it’s a different kind of boot, it’s a different fit of pants. Music is key."

The light grey colour palette gave way to darker charcoal grey, then black, before shades of purple peppered the runway.

Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pascal Le Segretain - Getty Images

And if you were wondering what the first must have/WTF accessory trend of the year would be, look for these blown-up backpacks and carryalls (truly you can carry everything in them).

Photo credit: Estrop - Getty Images
Photo credit: Estrop - Getty Images
Photo credit: Estrop - Getty Images
Photo credit: Estrop - Getty Images
Photo credit: Estrop - Getty Images
Photo credit: Estrop - Getty Images

He also showed glow-in-the-dark monogram bags and brought back the reflective sneaker trend:

Photo credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis - Getty Images
Photo credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis - Getty Images

For the finale, a cluster of models walked out to a lively rendition of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin Something" where model Alton Mason stole the show with his dance solo and multiple backflips before an overjoyed Virgil slipped out of the grocery store to do his final walk.

@louisvuitton finale! 👏🏾 👏🏾

A post shared by Yashua (Simmons) (@yashuasimmons) on Jan 17, 2019 at 6:31am PST

Everyone from Naomi Campbell looking like an absolute boss to Timothée Chalamet showed up for what has quickly become one of the must-see shows on the menswear circuit.

Photo credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff - Getty Images
Photo credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff - Getty Images
Photo credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff - Getty Images
Photo credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff - Getty Images

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