Although the fashion world in 2022 has emerged from the shadow of the global pandemic and truly returned to its former glory before the epidemic struck, the entire circle still needs some time to digest Virgil Abloh’s departure. Speaking of this depressing news again inevitably brings back a sense of lingering fear, and as a major “backer” of this genius designer and creator before his passing, the brand Louis Vuitton has decided not to discuss any succession temporarily, instead reminiscing about and spending time with this beloved designer once again through the exhibition “Coming of Age.”
If you have been paying attention to Virgil Abloh’s past activities, you should have some impression of the name “Coming of Age.” As early as 2019, Virgil Abloh collaborated with Little Big Man Gallery in Los Angeles to curate a creative exhibition called “Coming of Age,” focusing on the diversity, complexity, and concepts of male youth and childhood. Through creative exploration, the exhibition delved into issues such as class concepts, race, socioeconomics, dimensional culture, isolation, and friendship, once again opening up the eyes of those unfamiliar with Virgil Abloh and contemporary society.
Nearly three years later, Foundation Louis Vuitton decided to center an exhibition in Paris around how Virgil Abloh dedicated his short life to creation, once again named “Coming of Age,” to review his career and contributions. In addition to retaining the core content of the original exhibition, the new “Coming of Age” will also incorporate different display areas, interactive activities, and digital installations to enrich the exhibition’s comprehensiveness for people around the world to experience.
The original scale of the “Coming of Age” exhibition was arranged by the curators to travel to multiple locations around the world, leading the exhibition to cities such as Paris, Beijing, Milan, New York, Munich, Tokyo, and Seoul, providing a DIY “copy center” for local students, artists, and communities to select and reference their favorite artworks from the exhibition, and to edit their own magazines through their artistic works and expressions in the center, showcasing Virgil Abloh’s design philosophy.
The new “Coming of Age” exhibition, first held in Paris, is a physical embodiment and tribute to Virgil Abloh’s world. The exhibition will reorganize, transform, and expand the original exhibition and its narrative history. This new exhibition pays homage to the practical creator, combining physical and digital activities, hoping to turn visitors and a group of artists, photographers, musicians, directors, and actors into participants, encouraging the traditional appreciation process to evolve into participatory activities, enhancing diverse and consistent interaction and communication between the two.
What’s even more interesting is that Foundation Louis Vuitton hopes that all participants in this experience can interpret Virgil Abloh’s mission and achievements, embodying the brand’s democratic dream, making it a space open to people of all industries, ages, genders, and races – truly continuing the concept of “Coming of Age”.
The exhibition is now being held in Paris, and reservations can be made through Foundation Louis Vuitton from now until April 27, free of charge. However, it is believed that the more regrettable part is that the exhibition is not being held in Hong Kong. If you have friends who are planning to go abroad and visit the exhibition, feel free to share with us some of the highlights.
Image：Foundation Louis Vuitton、FuckingYoung
