What exactly is ‘normal’ in fashion? “In broad brushes, you could say a tailored silhouette reminds us of normalcy: getting back to work, back to business, back in shape. The notion of normalcy can seem like a safe haven in the wake of tumultuous times,” says Virgil Abloh.

Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 21 from Virgil Abloh — **Image courtesy of Esquire**

And in a way, we can say that this is true, a fact that he tries to encapsulate in his latest Pre-fall 21 collection for Louis Vuitton. Departing from cloudscape suits and stuffed- animal garments, Abloh’s newest collection consists of suits, bomber jackets, overcoats, crisp shirts, sweaters and accessories in colours that we can recognise and even find more comfortable.

A look from Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 21 collection — **Image courtesy of Vogue**

Yet, each piece carries a unique message that differentiates the Abloh’s definition of normal from the mainstream explanation. An intarsia sweater instructs us to separate fashion from fiction, and a debossed leather jacket offers the sage advice: Don’t let your day job define you. Asymmetrical monogram leather panels lift classic coats, and there are pops of Abloh’s atypicality everywhere else, in tie-dye and in salt-dyed Damier check motifs.

intarsia sweater from the pre-fall 21 collection — **Image courtesy of Vogue**

“I’m interested in analyzing the archetypical properties rooted in conformity: The way society programs us into thinking that certain professions and dress codes are synonymous with certain representations of race, gender, and sexual identity or orientation,” he explained. “De-programming those preconceived notions is about promoting the freedom of identity. Post-2020, conformity will hopefully look a lot more open.”

LV Pre-Fall 21 — **Image courtesy of WWD**

The New Normal, as the show notes reference in their open, is a term that has been bludgeoned into mulch by every section of society, retail and regional news imaginable. In its Pre-Fall 21 collection though, Louis Vuitton isn’t post-facing the word with any reference to Covid-19. This New Normal exists on its own terms, the brand (and the clothes) comfortable in a happy middle ground between the artefacts of the menswear canon, and the new classics of Abloh’s creation. They’re all now everyday things – and there’s plenty beautiful about it.

Source: Esquire