Sotheby's Will Auction 200 Pairs of Louis Vuitton and Nike ‘Air Force 1’ by Virgil Abloh, to Support The Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund
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Virgil was part of this auction planning until its very last checklist after his passing. It gives me an ounce of pleasure with more tears flowing to write that LVMH supported and advanced what hopefully will be a blockbuster fundraiser for Virgil Abloh’s commitment to diversity in the fashion industry through his scholarship program. Let’s break records here, people. You can read here about VIRGIL ABLOH™ “POST-MODERN” SCHOLARSHIP FUND.
Coincidentally, this morning I read an excellent article on Vogue Business recapping the discussion around Abloh’s successor. It will become an AOC post, but you may wish to read it now at Vogue Business.
Related: EXCLUSIVE: Louis Vuitton CEO Talks Final Virgil Abloh Collection, Succession Plans WWD
Sotheby's is proud to present The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh, a special global online auction of the highly coveted Nike x Louis Vuitton “Air Force 1" sold to benefit The Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund, an organization that aims to foster equity and inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships to academically promising students of Black, African American, or African descent.
The auction marks the first-ever release of the Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh created for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Collection. Prior to his passing on 28 November 2021, the Louis Vuitton Men’s Artistic Director was involved in the early organization of the auction and its surrounding events. The auction will take place in association with his family.
Each pair will be sold with a Louis Vuitton pilot case in orange Taurillon Monogram Leather (exclusive to this auction), which was likewise featured in the collection.
Starting from the launch of the auction, the shoes and the pilot case will be exhibited at Sotheby’s New York. Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit free of charge, and can make an appointment to do so through our reservation page.
For more info about the scholarship fund and some of Virgil’s students, read The Cut’s article published after his passing, in December 2021.
A total of 200 pairs of the Nike “Air Force 1” – originally created for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Men’s Collection – is being made available in an exclusive colorway and a range of sizes.
The Nike Air Force 1 was designed in 1982 and is one of the most successful shoes ever created. On the album It Takes Two from 1988, DJ E-Z Rock was immortalized wearing a Nike Air Force 1 basketball trainer altered by Dapper Dan with a swoosh adorned in the Louis Vuitton monogram. The cover embodied the hip-hop community’s early practice of hacking together high fashion and sportswear, side-lining diverging brands with equal reverence. A cultural symbol in its own right, today the Nike Air Force 1 serves as an objet d’art emblematic of self-generated subcultural provenance. For Spring-Summer 2022, Virgil Abloh collaborated with Nike on bespoke Air Force 1s, fusing the trainer’s classic codes with the insignia and materials of Louis Vuitton in homage to the hip-hop culture that shaped him.
A cultural symbol in its own right, today the Nike Air Force 1 serves as an objet d’art emblematic of self-generated subcultural provenance.
In total, Virgil Abloh designed 47 pairs of the Nike “Air Force 1” for the Louis Vuitton show in collaboration with Nike. To distinguish them from the original Nike “Air Force 1", the sneakers were made with materials employed in Abloh’s Louis Vuitton men’s collections, and were styled with his signature quotation marks, echoing the written graphics Abloh used to adorn the shoes. The individual style designed for the show were made by Louis Vuitton in its shoe manufacture in Fiesso d’Artico.
The top images are from The Fashion Scholarship Fund website. It’s celebrating Nike’s renovation of the Boys and Birls Club in chicago.
