Virgil Abloh upcycled clothes for his Louis Vuitton SS21 menswear show

Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton menswear, Virgil Abloh, showcased his fifth collection for the brand last night in Shanghai.

In a first for the brand, garments for the SS21 show were made using deadstock textiles and previous seasons’ clothing.

Out of the entire show, only two ensembles were made of new material. 25 other looks featured recycled material and another 25 showcased items lifted from previous Vuitton shows, which were selected according to the design team’s favourite past looks.

Held in the city’s Pudong district, the collection carried on from the kaleidoscopic video the fashion house debuted at digital Paris Fashion Week earlier this year.

“For all intents and nuances, I have often spelled out the interceptive reality of myself as a Black man in a French luxury house,” Abloh explained in his seasonal manifesto. “I am well aware of my responsibilities. Rather than preaching about it, I hope to lead by example and unlock the door for future generations. … It’s my desire to imbue the traditional codes of luxury with my own progressive values. Nuance, like sarcasm, can be difficult to understand.”

Abloh was appointed to the position at Louis Vuitton in March 2018, making history as the first black man to ever hold the post.