Matt Varga Some four years after his passing, Virgil Abloh and his multi-brand empire remain an object of fascination in so many ways, no doubt spurred by the fact that the tragic news and unrevealed diagnosis left much of his iconoclastic body of work unfinished. In perhaps the broadest posthumous showcase to date, early info pointed towards a joint, weeks-long activation between Nike and the Virgil Abloh Archive to showcase what the former LV head and A-list Nike collaborator had in store with “The Codes” Fall series in Paris.
As the program’s September 30th tip-off date nears closer, the two partners now officially announce the program, with a press release now live on virgilabloh.com. As they lay out, dialogues, workshops, performances, and screenings will accompany the centerpiece of the Parisian event, a dive into the tangible archive that Abloh left behind.
In some fortuitous timing, GQ recently dipped into that archive to show some select pieces that attendees and the fashion public as a whole can look forward to seeing. For our purposes, of course his work with Nike stands out, and the Air Force 1 remains as much of a focus in the catalog as it was in his released work. On top of a prototype version of the “MoMA” AF1 and the cleated ISPA-style Mid that’d come a few years later, the magazine helped reveal beta versions of the Louis Vuitton Air Force 1 collection and the MCA/overlace series.
With the former, each progressive colorway is almost more eye-catching than the last, running the gamut between shimmering finishes, embossed monogram prints, LV checkerboard, and throwback 2000s style palettes. The latter each bear primary coloring and contrast black soles, paired with the aforementioned overlace system and additional Off-White trademarks like the oversized silver Swoosh and exposed foam. There’s plenty of additional highlights to go around further into the selection, but the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 “Canary” sticks out, especially given rumors of that pair’s return.
We’ll leave it to you to parse the advance preview of the collection or even check out the offerings in person. The Nike Virgil Abloh Archive opens its doors to the public on September 30th and runs until October 9th.
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- Selections from The Virgil Abloh Archive GQ
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- Selections from The Virgil Abloh Archive GQ
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- Selections from The Virgil Abloh Archive GQ
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- Selections from The Virgil Abloh Archive GQ
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- Selections from The Virgil Abloh Archive GQ
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- Selections from The Virgil Abloh Archive GQ
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