Sotheby's Will Auction 200 Pairs of Louis Vuitton and Nike ‘Air Force 1’ by Virgil Abloh

For more info about the scholarship fund and some of Virgil’s students, read The Cut’s article published after his passing, in December 2021.

Sotheby's Will Auction 200 Pairs of Louis Vuitton and Nike ‘Air Force 1’ by Virgil Abloh, to Support The Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund AOC Art of Living

Sotheby's is proud to present The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh, a special global online auction of the highly coveted Nike x Louis Vuitton “Air Force 1" sold to benefit The Virgil Abloh™ “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund, an organization that aims to foster equity and inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships to academically promising students of Black, African American, or African descent.

The auction marks the first-ever release of the Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh created for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Collection. Prior to his passing on 28 November 2021, the Louis Vuitton Men’s Artistic Director was involved in the early organization of the auction and its surrounding events. The auction will take place in association with his family.

Each pair will be sold with a Louis Vuitton pilot case in orange Taurillon Monogram Leather (exclusive to this auction), which was likewise featured in the collection.

Starting from the launch of the auction, the shoes and the pilot case will be exhibited at Sotheby’s New York. Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit free of charge, and can make an appointment to do so through our reservation page.

A total of 200 pairs of the Nike “Air Force 1” – originally created for the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2022 Men’s Collection – is being made available in an exclusive colorway and a range of sizes.

Pierpaolo Piccioli Was Woke Before Naming Zendaya As New Brand Face

‘Euphoria’ star Zendaya has joined the Valentino stable of celebs and voices representing the brand. The star shared the news, saying that she is “honoured to have been chosen as the face of Valentino,” and “so excited to begin this amazing collaboration with Pierpaolo and the entire Valentino family.”.

WWD delivered the message that Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli wants “to make the brand more in sync with the times and more inclusive, while maintaining its storied codes.”

From his perspective, Piccioli wants “to resignify the brand and how it is generally perceived. It’s like a different take on a familiar landscape.” Zendaya “embodies and represents what Valentino is and stands for today,” Piccioli explained to the press. “She is a powerful and fierce young woman that uses her talent and her work to express herself, her values and her generation as well.”

As an actor, the recent Emmy Awards youngest winner of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Zendaya’s role in ‘Euphoria’, joined Viola Davis as only the second Black female actor to win an Emmy in the high-profile category.

Valentino Isn’t New to Supporting Black Creatives and Culture

Valentino haute couture, spring 2019.Credit...Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times

Valentino and Piccioli are walking a needlessly treacherous balance beam in AOC’s opinion.

Perhaps because we follow the fashion industry so closely, we know Valentino and Piccioli himself have existing credentials in their support of Black creatives and models. I would have positioned that existing pedigree as part of their new announcement about Zendaya.

Piccioli’s relationship with Black models is at the top of luxury fashion houses. In his spectacular January 2019 couture show, the creative director and designer featured a dominating majority Black models extravaganza, reflecting a historic commitment to Black model representation. Vanessa Friedman reported that of 65 models, 45 were Black.

“As a designer I have a voice,” Piccioli said in the moment. “Hopefully a loud one. I want to use it.”

Fine — we are accustomed to marketing manipulation — but when Roberta Flack’s ‘The First Time’ hit the runway, tears welled up in more than one set of fashionista eyes. The beauty of the January 2019 moment existed in the reality that Pierpaolo Piccioli’s gesture was not tokenistic.

Joining Naomi Campbell were Aaliyah Hydes, Adut Akech, Ajak Deng, Akiima, Alek Wek, Alyssa Traore, Annibelis Baez, Anyelina Rosa, Assa Baradji, Ayak Veronica Bior, Blesnya Minher, Duckie Thot, Eftagine Fevilien, Grace Bol, Hannah Shakespeare, Hiandra Martinez, Janaye Furman, Judy Kinuthia, Karly Loyce, Litza Velloz, Lineisy Fatou Liya Kebede, Jobe, Lisette Moriello, Mayowa Nicholas, Miqueal-Simone Williams, Montero, Naomi Chin Wing, Nichole Atiero, Rouguy Faye, Niko Riam, Nyara Aboja, Saba Koj, Sana Diouf, Selena Forrest, Shanelle Nyasiase, Sompra Antonio, Tami Williams, Ugbad Abai, and Veronica Cabral.

Valentino’s Moncler Collab with Liya Kebede

Image courtesy Moncler.

Pierpaolo Piccioli’s collaboration with Lemlem’s founder Liya Kebede on puffer gowns for Moncler also comes to mind. Kebede’s Ethiopian artisans created colorful borders on the gowns, like those found on the ‘habesha kemis’ traditional Ethiopian dress.

AOC’s only point is that there’s no need for Valentino to communicate a message that’s it’s a luxury brand jumping on the Black representation bandwagon.

Valentino was ‘woke’ on this issue before most other luxury brands. They don’t deserve an award for being among the first to take a leadership position around Black beauty and creativity. But Valentino could have celebrated their ongoing commitment to racial justice and Black representation by announcing Zendaya as a next step in this long-overdue journey.

It would be like Anne of Carversville announcing our commitment to Black models, when we’ve been fighting for them for a decade. Nobody deserves a bow on this issue, but Valentino is not new to this long-overdue party. It didn’t take a summer of widespread protest and discontent to prompt Valentino to action. Nor did it take embarrassing condemnation from Black leaders and racial justice activists pointing out the obvious racism in their product offerings — as experienced by Gucci and Prada. ~ Anne