Hundreds of landmark Virgil Abloh shoes exceeding estimates
02/02/2022
According to Reuters, Mr Abloh’s trainer designs represented the first ever official collaboration between the Nike and Louis Vuitton brands.
To mark the occasion of the model’s fortieth anniversary, the former Louis Vuitton artistic director, who passed away last November, designed 47 pairs of bespoke Nike Air Force 1s for the Louis Vuitton men’s spring-summer 2022 runway. Each pair was made by Louis Vuitton artisans at the brand’s Fiesso d’Artico, Italy, workshop.
A total of 200 pairs of the all-leather trainers were made available by the luxury goods company directly for the Sotheby’s auction and each will come in a size-specific orange Louis Vuitton pilot case in the house’s Taurillon Monogram leather (a mark of many of Mr Abloh’s designs), exclusive to the auction.
The brand’s signature Monogram and Damier Azur pattens decorate each shoe’s upper, complemented by the designer’s own codes such as quotation marks on the laces and midsoles, for example. Sotheby’s described the trainers as influenced by hip hop culture.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit The Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund, managed by the Fashion Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2020 and supports academically promising students of Black, African American or African heritage in their pursuit of a fashion education. The scholarship programme also provides career mentorship and internship guidance, as well as other forms of support beyond academics.
The shoes and the pilot case are currently on display - by (free) appointment only - at Sotheby’s New York.
Image: Sotheby’s.
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