louis vuitton sees trainers as white canvases in latest exhibition at milan fashion week
White canvas: LV Trainer in Residence
From February 24th to May 16th, 2023, Louis Vuitton presents “White Canvas: LV Trainer in Residence”, an exhibition dedicated to a new series of artistic reinterpretations of the LV Trainer. Developed by the French fashion house based on an idea by his former Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Ablohin collaboration with Sky Gellatly, the project uses the emblematic all-white leather low-top sneakers as a blank canvas for a collection of creative reinvention. For the first edition of the exhibition, Louis Vuitton invites three key artists influenced by the New York underground scene of the 1980s to reinterpret the LV Trainer: Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones and the estate of the late artist Rammellzee. The result is a collection of white sneakers decorated with elements of street art, graffiti murals and hip-hop culture.
The reinterpretations of the iconographic sneakers will be exhibited in the ephemeral Louis Vuitton store at Garage Traversi in Milan, which will be the exclusive point of sale for the sneakers, which will be available in limited quantities.
Lady Pink’s reinterpretation of the LV sneaker | All images courtesy of Louis Vuitton unless otherwise noted
through the lenses of Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones and Rammellzee
For the first episode of “White Canvas: LV Trainer in Residence”, Louis Vuitton invites three established names in contemporary art, Lady Pink and Lee Quiñones, and the estate of the late artist Rammellzee to reimagine the sneaker through their unique creative languages. The exhibition serves as an invitation to free expression of opinion and builds on that the houses historical connections to artistic spheres and the development of ongoing creative conversations with different fields of knowledge and genres.
Born in Ecuador in 1964, Lady Pink was instrumental in the rise of graffiti art and remains a cult figure in the hip-hop scene. Born in Puerto Rico in 1960, Lee Quiñones became famous for painting entire subway cars and murals, and was instrumental in bringing street art to the earth. Visual artist Rammellzee (1960-2010) expressed himself in a wide variety of artworks, spanning diverse disciplines such as painting, sculpture, and performance.
Lee Quiñones’ reinterpretation of the LV trainer
About the LV trainer
Originally designed by Virgil Abloh for Spring/Summer 2019 – his first show for Louis Vuitton – the LV sneaker combines the authentic codes of basketball shoes with the iconography and savoir-faire of the French fashion house. Conceived by Abloh as the ultimate luxury sneaker, it has appeared in a variety of adaptations in Louis Vuitton’s men’s collection and has become an icon in the sneaker community. It’s made of leather and comes in low-top and high-top versions. Each pair of LV sneakers is made in the Maison’s Italian factories in Fiesso d’Artico, taking no less than seven hours to complete.
Rammellzee reinterpretation of the LV trainer
Project info:
Surname: White canvas: LV Trainer in Residence
Brand: Louis Vuitton
Artist: Lady Pink, Lee Quiñones, Estate of The Rammellzee
Location: Garage Traversi, Milan
Events: February 24 to May 16, 2023
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