LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has tapped designer Virgil Abloh to lead Louis Vuitton’s menswear team. Abloh will present for the first time in June 2018 during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
Abloh steps into the role following Kim Jones, who showed his final collection in January 2018. As of April 1, 2018, Jones will assume the role of artistic director of LVMH’s Dior Homme label.
“Having followed with great interest Virgil’s ascent since he worked with me at Fendi in 2006, I am thrilled to see how his innate creativity and disruptive approach have made him so relevant, not just in the world of fashion but in popular culture today,” said Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke, who was CEO at Fendi when Kanye West and Abloh together interned at the label.
Abloh acknowledged the move on Instagram with an image of a Louis Vuitton trunk and added in a press statement, “It is an honor for me to accept the position of men’s artistic director for Louis Vuitton. I find the heritage and creative integrity of the house are key inspirations and will look to reference them both while drawing parallels to modern times.”
There were rumors last year around Abloh joining Givenchy as a lead designer and subsequently Versace, none of which came to fruition.
