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Nike x Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh’s final project before his death arrive to New York City

See how the late artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear left his ethereal mark in fashion


Shirley Gomez
Senior Writer
MAY 24, 2022 3:37 PM EDT

Virgil Abloh’s final projects before his death arrive in New York City. The late artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear left his ethereal mark in fashion by putting a spin on Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 shoe. The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh debuted earlier this year with just 200 pairs.

The sought-after sneakers sold for $25.3 million in an auction at Sotheby’s. Considered a piece of art, its proceeds were towards a scholarship fund for Black fashion students.

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A sculpture of the late Virgil Abloh, the founder of Off White and the Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton, during a immersive exhibition showcasing 47 limited editions of the Nike ‘Air Force 1’ sneaker created by Virgil Abloh in partnership with Nike for Louis Vuitton

“This object happened way before me, but to get to a context where it’s adjacent to the T-shirt and the suit, its logic has been 40 years in the making,” Abloh said, according to the press release.

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A pair of shoes on display during a immersive exhibition showcasing 47 limited editions of the Nike ‘Air Force 1’ sneaker created by Virgil Abloh in partnership with Nike for Louis Vuitton May 20, 2022 at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. Some of Virgil Abloh’s final creations will be on public display in New York in an expo that also confers further mystique to the lucrative world of specialty sneakers.Opening Saturday and running through the end of May, the show will present 47 customized Nike “Air Force 1” sneakers designed by Abloh and assembled at Louis Vuitton’s manufacturing facility in Venice.

“It’s completely not a shoe. It’s an art object. It doesn’t even need to be on someone’s feet,” Abloh told the FT before his passing. “It distills everything I’m saying into an object. The ‘Air Force 1’ is a basketball shoe, but through hip-hop culture, it has energized a representative sculpture. It means a lot to very specific people.”

To continue his legacy and name alive, the fashion labels opened an installation in Brooklyn to showcase Abloh’s “Air Force 1.” The exhibition showcases 47 pairs of shoes in mirror-and-concrete structures. A few structures also read a few quotes Virgil was known for, such as, “Are you a tourist or a purist?” “Who did it first? Where did they get the idea? Is it new?”

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Shoes on display during a immersive exhibition showcasing 47 limited editions of the Nike Air Force 1 sneaker created by Virgil Abloh in partnership with Nike for Louis Vuitton May 20, 2022 at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York.

This summer, nine iterations of the shoes will be sold, with prices beginning at $2,750. The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” exhibition by Virgil Abloh is open at 73 West Street in Brooklyn through May 31.