There is so much hype about the release of the Louis Vuitton and Nike «Air Force 1» designed by Virgil Abloh. Now, finally in June 2022, 9 editions of the sneaker – first presented as part of the S/S 2022 Men’s Collection – will be launched globally through an inclusive digital activation, with members of the Maison’s community offered early access to order the shoes.

Until May 31, 2022, the 47 editions of the «Air Force 1» imagined by Virgil Abloh were exhibited to the public in the showcase Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh in New York City. This event coincided with a number of corresponding art installations around the city. Manufactured in the Maison’s Manufacture in Fiesso d’Artico, Venice, Italy, each design fuses the sneaker’s original codes with the Maison’s finest leather, materials and insignia of Louis Vuitton, and the distinctive visual grammar of Virgil Abloh.

Celebrating its 40th year, the classic Nike «Air Force 1» was designed in 1982 and is one of the most successful shoes ever created. A cultural symbol in its own right, Virgil Abloh viewed the sneaker as an objet d’art emblematic of self-generated cultural provenance. The 47 expressions of the Nike «Air Force 1»  were created for a Louis Vuitton collection rooted in the Amen Break, a little-known drum break of a B-side created by the funk-soul group The Winstons in 1969, which would be sampled and go on to underpin the hip-hop and jungle genres, and splinter into thousands of the pop tracks most familiar to us today.

In June 2021, Virgil Abloh explained his approach: «The Air Force 1 is a sample like the Amen Break. A t-shirt is an ‘Amen Break’, a suit is an ‘Amen Break’. We’re all iterating on the same ideas. But, in my canon, the Air Force 1 puts the edge on the blade. This object happened way before me, but to get to a context where it’s adjacent to the t-shirt and the suit, its logic has been forty years in the making,» he said.

In February 2022, 200 pairs of the sneaker designs were sold at auction, to benefit The Virgil Abloh™ «Post-Modern» Scholarship Fund.

The 9 editions selected for Louis Vuitton in-store release cover mid-tops (EUR 2,500) and low-tops (EUR 2,000), and will be made available in Nike sizes ranging from 3.5 to 18. The launch includes the classic all-white sneaker embossed with the Louis Vuitton Monogram, and a riff on the same design in black suede. Two-tone editions in white with either green, red or blue detailing nod at the rainbow motif key to the work of Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton. Likewise, a metallic gold sneaker pays homage to the designer’s debut collection for the Maison, while patchworked multi-colour renditions celebrate his distinct graphic language.

Finally, a Damier edition is adorned with a «Louis Vuitton» graffiti motif created by the artist Ghusto Leone. The full launch includes:

  • White mid-top in Monogram embossed plain calf leather.
  • White low-top in Monogram embossed plain calf leather.
  • Black low-top in Monogram embossed calf suede.
  • White and Gym Green low-top in a trompe-l’oeil canvas executed in printed Monogram leather and Monogram embossed calf leather.
  • White and Comet Red low-top in a trompe-l’oeil canvas executed in printed Monogram leather and Monogram embossed calf leather
  • White and Team Royal Blue low-top in a trompe-l’oeil canvas executed in printed Monogram leather and Monogram embossed calf leather
  • Gold low-top in Monogram embossed metallic canvas.
  • Silver and multi-colour patchwork low-top in Monogram embossed calf suede and monogram embossed metallic canvas.
  • Sail and Multicolor mid-top in Damier leather with an Azur graffiti print (available in sizes 5-18)

As a way of building bridges between countries and cultures, the late Virgil Abloh merged the worlds of high fashion and streetwear. The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh can be seen as another unifying motif. Hard to get your hands on, but absolutely worth it! It is a piece of fashion history. I attached for you the making of the sneakers. So interesting to experience the craftsmanship going into the shoes.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Louis Vuitton / Nike
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