Runway round-up: Dior’s Men’s Fall 2022 show, Balenciaga “The Lost Tapes” Collection, and more

Virgil Abloh’s final collection for Louis Vuitton 

When: December 1, 6.30am Malaysia time

Taking place on a barge across from Miami’s Marine Stadium, Louis Vuitton’s latest spin-off show for their Spring/Summer 2022 menswear collection was unveiled. What was supposed to be one of many more to come from designer Virgil Abloh––who passed days before from a private battle with cancer––became a memorial service and a celebration of a remarkable life of one multi-hyphenate creative whose tenure at the brand was groundbreaking.

Titled ‘Virgil Was Here’, the SS22 presentation was a creative cornucopia of Abloh’s greatest hits and new ideas. The collection had first dropped earlier in June via a short film, with belted tailoring and tracksuit tops under oversized suit jackets alongside graffiti-plastered varsity jackets with oversized earmuffs, and the latest presentation was scheduled to be a reviewing of sorts in a new city, featuring 10 never-before-seen looks.

Abloh’s friends, family, collaborators, muses and colleagues, including Rihanna, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, A$AP Rocky, Michèle Lamy, and Edward Enninful, among many others, were greeted by a three-story statue of the late designer as they gathered on the makeshift catwalk. Before the show began, Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke spoke to the audience about Abloh, per Vogue: “He used the platform he had to break boundaries, to open doors, to shed light on his creative passions––art, design, music and of course, fashion––so that everybody could see inside,” he said, “not only to dream of being part of that world but to also find ways to make that dream a reality.”

Then, an audio message from the designer himself opened the show, as he talked about the creative process and the idea of returning to this place of curiosity and childlike wonderment that he’d been exploring through his work, while models, including Kid Cudi, Offset and Quavo, strutted down the tree-lined runway. The show ended with another snippet of the designer’s voice, as members of his design team came out for the final bow, before a red hot balloon featuring the iconic LV monogram floated over the audience. The sky was lit up by fireworks as drones arranged to read, “Virgil Was Here” as an emotional final send-off for the trailblazing creative. Watch the full runway below:

Chanel Métiers d’Art 2021/22 

When: December 7, 10pm Malaysia time

Far from their regular Parisian haunts of rue Cambon and the Grand Palais, Chanel will be staging their annual Métiers d’art collection at the brand new Le 19M building nestled in the 19th arrondissement of the French capital, which also houses 11 Maisons d’art including embroiderer Lesage, shoemaker Massaro, feather- and flower-maker Lemarié, goldsmith Goossens, milliner and hatter Maison Michel, pleater Lognon, and flou specialist Paloma. The decision to show the collection at the symbolic place links the French fashion house’s commitment to the preservation and development of historical fashion savoir-faire with the need to focus on the future and inspire new vocations.

Since 2002, the Métiers d’art has paid homage to the virtuoso hands of fashion by bringing together an array of talented creatives like embroiderers, feather workers, pleaters, shoemakers, and others that showcase exceptional masterpieces and craftsmanship. Initiated by Gabrielle Chanel herself, this fruitful conversation between the house of Chanel and the Métiers d’art has provided these talented artisans with a platform to display their best work and support their development.

In anticipation of the event, Chanel has unveiled an animated teaser of the upcoming collection by Remembers Studio, featuring eight models in timeless couture creations in embodiment of the eight houses behind Chanel’s emblematic codes and creations, alongside a sneak peek of the distinctive triangular-shaped venue space. Catch the show live on chanel.com and check back for a post-show review.

Highlights: 

Unveiled inside the Le 19M, Chanel continued their love letter to craft with a Métiers d’Art 2021/22 collection that was metropolitan yet sophisticated––filled with relaxed tweed jackets with sweatshirt sleeves and slouchy knits decked out in the finest embroidery, coloured beadwork (by Lesage, of course) and gleaming pearls. For online viewers, the lineup was unveiled via a beautiful short film created by choreographer and dancer Dimitri Chamblas to show the “dazzling play of graphic textures and precious details” worn by the models as they sauntered, twirled and dashed across the vast space of the grand building.

Much of the handiwork itself was inspired by Le 19M itself, as seen by the silver sequins, graphics and structured constructions imbued throughout the clothes, while silhouettes were intrinsically Virginie Viard, featuring loose, maxi-length dresses, boyish bermudas, and baggy jeans that were given an upgrade by the delicate craftwork of the Maisons. Other pieces kept in line with the creative director’s youth-centric vision for the brand via chunky knit crop tops, highly-covetable double-C cardigans (worn sans base layer) and low-rise maxi skirts that opened up thigh-high––all paired with plenty of opulent jewellery that was layered to the max.

See every look from the collection here. 

Balenciaga Autumn 2022 collection 

When: Decem