Tyler Mitchell Captures Louis Vuitton Spring 2023 Mens Campaign, Shot in Almeria, Spain

Models Ahmadou Gueye, Daniel Legzdins, Dara Gueye, Feranmi Ajetomobi, Joshua Seth, London Lee, Luukas Niskanen, and Sanoussy Sylla take the men’s fashion spotlight in the Louis Vuitton Spring 2023 Men’s Campaign.

Marq Rise was in charge of styling and set design the work of Andy Hillman. Casting responsibilities went to Piergiorgio Del Moro and Samuel Ellis Scheinman./ Hair by Cyndia Harvey; makeup by Lauren Parsons

A Wonderful Nod to Tyler Mitchell

Photographer Tyler Mitchell [IG] was over the moon, shooting “a gang of boys in the Spanish desert” near Almería, Spain. The minute I saw Mitchell’s name I understood how impacted he was by the shoot. To his credit, Tyler said as much: “I'm extremely thankful for the opportunity. Photography has brought me many places but this is my first main campaign for a heritage house of such stature. Those who know me know how much this means.”

In AOC’s view, Tyler Mitchell has evolved significantly since arriving on the scene in 2018. There are creative artists across genres who begin in one place and tend to stay there. Tyler Mitchell is NOT one of those people.

In an excellent interview Mitchell has with FRIEZE, the photographer explains how his new work is being influenced by his growing understanding of historical paintings.

I’m finding out more about the project as I go along. It’s an experiment. I like the idea that Frieze Masters is now trying to further articulate its vision by placing a contemporary artist in dialogue with masterworks from the 1600s–1900s. For me, it’s an exciting space because I’ve been making this new body of work – which will be shown at Frieze Masters – that furthers my interest in contemporary Black presence in photography, of course, but also thinks through these ideas of repose, relaxation and the idyllic as it relates to the landscape and non-western civilisations. So, you have in there all these references to Rococo and Baroque, such as Nicolas Poussin’s arcadian landscape With Orpheus and Eurydice (1650–53); but also the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, such as Paul Cézanne’s The Bathers (1898–1905) and Paul Gauguin’s Tahitian paintings from the 1890s. I like fusing those motifs together with the social imagery of how Black folks live today.

The new campaign honors yet again the uninhibited imagination of children, made up of dreams and games. But on a grander scale, the Louis Vuitton men’s imagery unleashes the powers of creative possibility in the menswear category.

In today’s world, “real men” like flowers in print and patterns. The evolution of menswear isn’t only into a more genderless visual attitude and design. Many men like being decorated and perhaps a bit provocative with their clothes.

AOC wrote last week that in looking at the new Fall 2023 LV Men’s Collection, I asked myself “would Jay-Z wear this?” It matters not to us that Harry Styles would love it.

How about Jay-Z? In fact, it was writing about how much Jay-Z loves Bode with its folksy embroidery, homespun aesthetic and finely-cut shapes that helped me understand the fuller range of possibilities in today’s menswear — on a grand scale.

Actor Michael B. Jordan is another Bode guy who also wore Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton cross-body harness in 2019 to the 25th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

I understand the constant mention of boyhood games and imaginations in the evolving Louis Vuitton Menswear discussion, but to me it’s just as important that cool men are relating to amusing and creative elements in their clothes. Creativity is known to be a uniting force among diverse peoples.

Virgil Abloh understood that reality. Clearly Louis Vuitton understands it in their deeply personal embrace of Virgil’s talents — then and now. And Tyler Mitchell is a similarly soft-spoken, creative personality that fits beautifully into the Louis Vuitton hive.