Louis Vuitton has reinvented itself over the past decade as not only a luxury powerhouse but a name that has become synonymous with groundbreaking collaborations. The brand’s former creative director, the late Virgil Abloh, elevated streetwear to a luxury level never before seen.
The French luxury brand just announced the in-store release of Abloh’s Nike Air Force 1 collection.
A total of nine iterations of these high fashion AF1s will be released as part of the men’s spring-summer 2022 collection. Classic colourways of the AF1s, including pairs in white and red, get the Louis Vuitton treatment and are reimagined in leather monogram.
High top versions of the shoes in white and in white and grey Damier checks bear both the Nike swoosh as well as the Louis Vuitton emblem.
You can bring a pair home starting June 1 for US$2,750.
But that is if you can get your hands on a pair.
Earlier this year, a limited edition run of 200 pairs of the shoes Abloh created for his final Louis Vuitton collection were sold through auction house Sotheby’s. Pairs of the shoes, packaged in special edition orange Louis Vuitton cases, fetched as much as US$ 176,400. The action brought in a total of US$2.5 million in sales.
Ahead of the release, Louis Vuitton is hosting an exhibition in New York's Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse that showcases 47 pairs of one-of-a-kind Air Force 1s that have been given the Louis V treatment.
Taking a page from his brand Off-White, Abloh had a track record of injecting pop-culture elements into his designs for Louis Vuitton. This Nike Air Force 1 crossover is not the first time Louis Vuitton has capitalised on the cultural power of basketball.
Louis Vuitton and NBA’s collaboration enters a second season this year. In 2021, the French fashion house created a trophy case for the championship trophy with its signature monogram. The fashion house has since developed an entire collection of leather goods, accessories and apparel, including a leather letterman jacket that retails for US$10,000.
Also see: Who in the NBA is wearing the US$6.5 million Patek Philippe