Louis Vuitton and Nike in "Air Force 1" collab

Louis Vuitton announces a series of events surrounding the release of the Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” designed by Virgil Abloh

In June 2022, nine editions of the sneaker – first presented as part of the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Men’s Collection – will be launched globally through an inclusive digital activation. Members of the Maison’s community are offered early access to order the shoes. From 20 to 31 May, the 47 editions of the “Air Force 1” imagined by the late Virgil Abloh will be exhibited to the public. This will happen in the form of a Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh showcase in New York City. The event will coincide with a number of corresponding art installations around the city.

The launch of the collab

June 2022 sees the launch of the Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh. In the weeks leading up to the release, pre-orders will be made available to the Maison’s community, while June will see the global Louis Vuitton retail launch through an inclusive digital activation.

The sneakers selected for the launch are part of the 47 bespoke editions of the Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1”s created by Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh. This was achieved in partnership with Nike for Abloh’s Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 collection presented in June 2021.

The showcase

From 20 to 31 May 2022, the exhibition Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh will take place at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in New York City. Open to the public, the expansive showcase charts the creative dialogue between Nike and Louis Vuitton envisioned by the Maison’s Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh for the Spring-Summer 2022 collection prior to his passing on 28 November 2021.

The exhibition is a spatial experience founded in the dreamy expressions of Virgil Abloh. As Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton from 2018 to 2021, the designer consistently challenged his audiences to imagine a world beyond manmade limitations.

He continuously questioned the meaning of ‘high and low’, a discourse reflected in every image and design he created at Louis Vuitton.

As a high fashion designer born out of a streetwear community shaped by hip-hop, Virgil Abloh erased the borders between the two spheres and used his platform to celebrate the historical influence of Black subcultures on mainstream fashion. His work was, above all, about humanity and unity.

Drawing on the surrealist ideas central to his practice, the 47 editions of the Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” dialogue are exhibited in motion on magnetised walls and in holographic displays animating the sneakers with cues to the breakdancing rooted in the hip-hop culture inseparable to their legacy.

Photos courtesy of Louis Vuitton x Nike

Also see: The visionary that was Off-White Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton artistic director