In July 2020, Louis Vuitton and Creative Director Virgil Abloh debuted the Louis Vuitton Spring / Summer ‘21 Men’s Collection. 

The first reveal of the Louis Vuitton Men’s Collection was part of a digital release called ‘Zoooom with Friends’. What seemed like a quirky video featuring animated cartoons turned out to be a foreshadowing of sorts.

Flash forward to August 2020 when the Louis Vuitton SS ’21 Menswear made its official debut in Shanghai. The characters we thought would be reserved for the video release transpired into a physical manifestation of psychedelic characters draped on clothing, printed on bags, and transformed into accessories. 

What is always an exciting time in fashion reveals left Louis Vuitton followers both surprised and intrigued. While chains and soft trunks seemed to be the extent of Virgil Abloh’s repertoire up to that point, he truly pushed the boundaries to their limits.

Now anyone seeking out a new Louis Vuitton piece from SS ’21 collection finds themselves picking from an assortment of characters outside the norm of the minimalistic luxury pieces of previous years. 

Virgil Abloh has certainly made a mark on the street style direction of the Louis Vuitton men’s collections as we’ve seen with the LV x Nigo capsule, but he also leaves us wondering what more is to come. While collaborations and reinvention of classic monogram are at the forefront of each season, there’s been no true mascot or personification of the Louis Vuitton brand beyond the Vivienne collectibles.

However, Virgil Abloh is the Creative Director for a reason and that leaves Louis Vuitton’s men collections up to his interpretation. Maybe he was just the eye for design that Louis Vuitton needed to breathe life into the men’s side of things. After all, if you ask anyone following the men’s collections over the years, they would tell you they’ve felt a bit neglected year after year. 

If you are part of the crowd that finds the ‘Zoooom with Friends’ characters more endearing, then this collection is worth adding to your collection. It may be years before quirky cartoons make another debut, so better to grab one while you can. The true determination for more characters to follow will be how quickly these pieces sell out (which they’re sure to do). Have thoughts you want to share? Let us know in the comments section.