Louis Vuitton flirts with skateboarding again

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Aug 26, 2020

Virgil Abloh continues to revolutionise the style of Louis Vuitton. The celebrity designer, in charge of the French luxury label's men's collections, is delving further into the world of streetwear.

While the LV² collection, the first collaboration created with streetwear supremo Nigo, is now being commercialised, Virgil Abloh has revealed on his Instagram account that Lucien Clarke has been signed up as the first Louis Vuitton-outfitted skateboarder. Jamaican skater Clarke, 32, is based in London, and showed for Virgil Abloh last year.

Clarke has posted on his Instagram account images of the first Virgil Abloh-designed Louis Vuitton skateboard sneakers, in red and black with the LV monogram embossed on the tongue, and the Lucien Clarke signature on the side.

For Louis Vuitton it might be more than another nod to the world of skateboarding - in 2017, the luxury label launched a statement collaboration with US streetwear label Supreme - since Clarke’s Instagram account seems to hint at an advertising campaign too, set to feature on a double page in the next issue of iconic skateboarding magazine Thrasher. The ad shows Clarke showing off his new sneakers, as well as skateboards decorated with the logos of British brand Palace and Louis Vuitton. A sneak preview of Louis Vuitton’s next collaboration perhaps?