Men’s Spring-Summer 2022 Fashion Show
Virgil Abloh’s new collection zooms in and out on archetypes and subcultures, highlighting their cultural context and collective re-contextualization
Metaphorically informed by the Amen Break, a little-known 1969 drum solo that became a founding factor in hip-hop and jungle music and has been sampled thousands of times since, the Men’s Spring-Summer 2022 Collection explores the myth of ownership in contemporary creativity. The Amen Break exemplifies the arts’ instinct to sample and resample, which when applied to fashion, sees the staples of suits, tracksuits, shirts and t-shirts re-interpreted on a never-ending loop.
HIGHLIGHTS
A recurring motif in the collection, the genetics of rave serve as an example of the cross-cultural gene pool found in the makeup of many of the subcultures fashion draws on today. An icon of rave dressing, the tracksuit is loaded with social preconceptions. Juxtaposed with the tailored suit, Virgil Abloh at once activates and neutralizes the unconscious biases connected to both wardrobe staples. Addressing the gender-related archetypes tied to certain garments, the collection focuses on elongated lines as a purely human approach to dressing.