Louis Vuitton Men's S/S 2021 Shanghai

[Benn98]

I didnt know Diet P has a partnership with LV .. is that possible ? Can you stay honest and have a partnership with LV at the same time ? If this is true it would be really disappointing. Is there anything that is not for sale today?

If a respected fashion media outlet like Business of Fashion can be 'sponsored' by LVMH, what's a small little IG meme page? I think in addition to taking backhanders from brands (they also don't post criticism on Prada), they know that they can't call Virgil out. Not right now. Times are too tense.

 

[aracic]

Diet Prada and all it's sheeple followers have been cancer to fashion for a long time now. They even charge for exclusive Patreon content now lol
It's always gonna be about clout, not honesty - it's just the way things are.

 

[helmutnotdead]

If I were a hacker, I’d love to take care of those morons!

 

[perfect blue]

Yeah I’ve long felt like DP is the Kool-Aid for people who aggressively subscribe to the philosophy of cancel culture.

 

[Vitamine W]

Came here to verbally vomit on Diet Prada criminally ignoring Virgil. Glad to read you guys were way ahead of me, you never disappoint me.

 

[Salvatore]

It's really strange because they always used to rip Virgil apart for anything and you would think they would with such a heavily derivative collection like this, but now ... because of money.

 

[JohannesL]

Unlike Hedi, Michele and Daniel, his weakness and mediocrity as a hype designer really put him in a league of his own. IF LV really want Van Beirendonck, then please HIRE him with some integrity.

 

[JohannesL]

They seriously went for the wrong ones this time. I don’t think there’s a big brand that is more opaque than Hermès.
I don’t know what was their intention but the Dumas family is clearly unbothered.

People gave too much power to that platform and allowed them to think for them. It’s always funny to see how people needs « validation » to cancel or celebrate anybody. It’s even more embarrassing when one of those people is Naomi Campbell...
Her calling for the boycott of Marni is hilarious.
And it is also hilarious to read people begging for DP to cover the Virgil/Walter thing...

Lola, a bit off-topic, would you tell us more about Hermes? I have always feel that the brand is in a league of its own because i seldom see the aggressive PR strategy (the celebrity endorsement in particular) from them.

 

[perfect blue]

Belgian Designer Accuses Virgil Abloh of Copying. Again.

This article includes a statement from Virgil about the plagiarism claims. Sorry, I'm not sure how to embed an article so that you don't have to click through to read it.

 

[Lola701]

Lola, a bit off-topic, would you tell us more about Hermes? I have always feel that the brand is in a league of its own because i seldom see the aggressive PR strategy (the celebrity endorsement in particular) from them.

Totally Off-topic I must say lol.
But yes, Hermès is very different from all the other brands because beyond everything else, they have a irreverent vision that was pioneered by the late great Jean-Louis Dumas.

Like all the CEOs of the 80’s he had huge ambitions for his brand but unlike them, he maintained the integrity of the brand and of his family’s heritage.
One thing that is very important is that unlike all the other brands, Hermès might be the only one where the family is/was involved in the creative And in the business side (That’s for example why their campaigns never followed the vision of one particular designer).

I must say that Hermès does not need heavy marketing because we do it (the people) in the best way for them And for free. All the fantasies, stories around their bags, their prices, the waiting lists...They just took advantage of that.
But don’t be a fool, they are very subtle in the way they use celebrity culture...And that’s where Michael Coste (their head of external relations) comes to the equation. His IG looks like the Hall Of Fame of important clients.

But I think their super exclusive but at the same time inclusive position can only work for them like the Alaia model only worked for Alaia even if I wish their production model was copied by others.

 

[helmutnotdead]

Well, I’ve just seen a post on Highsnobiety IG where they basically said that calling out Virgil for being a copycat is an act of racism.

Personally I think this is getting over the place and a little bit ridiculous.

 

[jeanclaude]

Someone should tell Virgil we are calling him out because he is an untalented copycat, not because the colour of his skin.

But if he wants to play victim using racism, someone must also remind him that there are talented black designers out there (like Stephen Burrows) who are just praised for their personal and unique vision.

 

[YohjiAddict]

The racism card? I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be talking about him in the first place if he wasn't the media's chosen "black designer". So very unimaginative and cowardly of him.

He's a hack, black or not. Race has no relevance in my (or others') assesment of his work.

 

[JohannesL]

Totally Off-topic I must say lol.

I knew, LOL. Again, thank you very much for your reply. I feel like I learn more from you in the TFS than reading all the news articles back in my colleges days.

 

[rip_ian curtis]

So sad that Walter was the smaller one here and the one who was clearly copied, and who tried to get their voice heard, and now it starts to seem like all of this will actually turn against him and his business and reputation, while the copycat gets out of this, celebrated, because of reasons that have nothing to do with the original problem. I hate the world so much these days.

 

[bc collector]

Well, I’ve just seen a post on Highsnobiety IG where they basically said that calling out Virgil for being a copycat is an act of racism.

Said article, written by the editor himself - no less and by the sound of it a very biased pal - goes on stating out loud that "old school designers live in denial of the fact that originality in the internet-era is a farcical notion".
(I won't dwell on the passage where the name of Virgil and Marcel Duchamp are put in the same sentence - I wish the Holy Father of Dada were able to throw back a pissoir from his grave as a comment).

So, guys, understood? What's the point in demanding personal ideas from a designer nowadays?
We are so old school...and racist...

 

[Norden]

I just read that article. I have never read such bullsh*t in my life. this whole situation is insane. There is a hilarious comment on it though, some
Dude going off about it. Love.

 

[Lola701]

Kanye West declared that they have the right to copy because it was hard from them, coming from Chicago and being black. The irony for a privileged Trump supporter who made it in this industry only thanks to his privileges.

The problem of Virgil and Kanye is that they have no shame copying designers...whether those designers are black, white, established or not!

When Virgil copied Kerby last year, nobody said anything. The same for Walter today...

What I hate today is that there are black talented designers around who don’t have 1% of the exposure he has BUT they are creative.
The race card won’t work for him. Between him crying because stores were destroyed and giving 50 dollars, it’s just one other layer. Unfortunately the people who called out Virgil don’t buy Walter anyway.

 

[JohannesL]

Those are pure PR practices to steer away from our criticism against Abloh. I am not surprised the industry tend to keep silence on such matter. It have happened in the political scenes for a long time, just look at recently how Biden got exposed in the metoo movement and Kamala’s history with the police, they are just like the democratic of trump. LVMH could always use the race card like they did to Galliano, at this time, to defend Abloh’s legitimacy as a designer and protect LV's prestige) LOL

 

[Phuel]

Everybody, of every race and nationality, has the “right” to creatively rip off anyone. And everybody else has the “right” to call them out on it. This is not racism. Racism is treating one race/one people differently from all others.

And it’s people like this— believing calling out Virgil, or constructively criticizing an individual who is Black, that are the racists. Virgil is a successful professional, high-profile designer — not a struggling student just learning and making his way, and his efforts need to adhere to the highest of standards— as anyone in his position needs to be held to. Treating him differently by lowering the standards for him is treating hm as a lesser and absolutely insulting to him (even if he may not be aware of it), and it’s defining another form of racism: One where these types believe Black individuals aren't capable of greater accomplishments and feats, and always need the great white saviour to enable and save them. So patronizing and racist.

...I think their super exclusive but at the same time inclusive position can only work for them like the Alaia model only worked for Alaia even if I wish their production model was copied by others.

Wiser words have never been so simply matter-of-factly stated. I don’t know why the high fashion world has all but forgotten about individuality.