It’s hard to say who’s having a better summer: Spike Lee, or Virgil Abloh. Lee spent the past few weeks bopping around the South of France serving as the first Black president of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival jury. Abloh, meanwhile, released a killer new Louis Vuitton men’s collection in June and just got a powerful new role at Vuitton conglomerate LVMH.
No need to decide: their mutual success makes them something of a dream team, and they linked up to create Lee’s wardrobe for the notoriously glamorous Cannes red carpet. Double-breasted jackets, hot pink, a sunset-inspired prin—-Lee went all out in Abloh’s Vuitton.
By email, Abloh complimented the way Lee “has changed the way we think about cinema.” He added, “The opportunity to collaborate with him on his historic role as first Black president of the Cannes Film Festival jury was an honor. We created a story, starting with the fuchsia suit and ending with the Sunset suit which we felt was a perfect and beautiful way to close out the festival. Spike has a strong sense of fashion and is not afraid of making bold choices.” Abloh has turned his Vuitton into perhaps the premier brand to wear if you need to be fancy and fun. Think back to when Timothée Chalamet wore that sparkly Vuitton harness to the 2019 Golden Globes, or Kanye West wore a mint green suit to 2Chainz’s 2018 wedding with slides.
Below, see a triumvirate of custom looks along with sketches of the looks from Abloh. In between these pieces, Lee wore a number of archival pieces from Abloh’s previous Vuitton collections, like a dinner jacket featuring the NBA logo figured into a houndstooth print. Fingers crossed that a Lee-directed costume drama with clothes by Abloh is in the works.
July 6: Opening ceremony
Lee set the tone for the ceremony with a blasted-pink double-breasted suit and matching sunglasses. Can a suit send a message of optimism and beauty (not to mention a much-needed note of not-here-to-play cool with the matching sunglasses)? This one did.
July 9: Benedetta screening
The sharp-shouldered, slightly cropped double-breasted suit jacket was a recurring piece in Abloh’s Spring 2022 collection. Abloh gave Lee red buttons and shoelaces and a coordinating beret to give the look Cannes-level formality. Plus: is this the first time we’ve ever seen a fanny pack on the red carpet?
July 17: The closing ceremony
Lee’s sunset suit—a fitting mood for the festival’s closing ceremony—is something of a more painterly take on a printed landscape suit from the Spring 2022 collection.
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Originally posted 2021-07-23 12:22:33.
