The Universe According To Virgil

Open source means source code and digital designs are publicly accessible so that anyone can view, modify and re-distribute their own versions. As a foundational element of his praxis, Virgil Abloh considered ideas under this same umbrella (Harvard 2017). That every creative should find a lineage of thought that resonates and build upon it. First, you see a model you recognize, but couldn’t yet describe. Then, you understand the mechanisms enough to tweak them to your liking. There’s so much research involved in design, art, and fashion. Forever synthesizing references and building on them.

So, after more than a year, I finally have my arms around the actual model I’m referencing when I say “brand world-building”. I have to say it was wearing on me that it landed like a buzzword. I’m nothing if not practical. The next hurdle is understanding whether the model truly applies to a swath of “cultural brands” or, romantically just my own.

World-Building as an Open Source Framework

My first read of Abloh’s Louis Vuitton show notes was simply discovery. Reading them again with new vocabulary was an unlock for the world-building stack (one-sheeter). If the path forward in culture (and the arts) is truly bifurcation and if that’s connected to the rise of the multi-hyphenate, then open source practices are a helpful blueprint (Free Game). So far as creativity takes on blueprints. Either way, these show notes gave me lots of material for understanding how to develop an immersive practice using the language of design. A proxy to my model.

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The world-building stack is a baseline philosophy for a creative brand in the wild. It’s important to acknowledge that what starts on paper must at some point take real shape. Abloh said he worked at a rapid pace to tangibly sharpen his design language. We see this evolution happen in real time through show notes 1-7. At the beginning of his tenure at Louis Vuitton, he’s four years into Off-White, but in uncharted territory given the machine behind the house. He leans on what he knows and the approach feels similar to his prior collabs. Starting to navigate the trial and error of the gray space between pure streetwear and straightforward luxury.

Shows 1-4 were foundational. Getting a feel for the tenets of Louis Vuitton yet still defining what it means to be there, what his impact would be, while technically an outsider. Naming that duality while also playing with the definitions of streetwear in itself. Streetwear is a commodity founded in fashion and streetwear is a community founded in subculture.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global turning point. It’s also really consequential for the fashion industry as it grapples with the decline of brick and mortar and the pressure to recreate itself. Say goodbye to the old guard. We get to show 5 and it’s a moment to reflect on past work, but also to plant a clear flag forward.

Abloh’s 2020 show notes are a manifesto re-iterating his commitment to diversity and inclusion and stepping forward into a clear direction for the house. He introduces an upcycling initiative. He carries over the previous glossaries and frames the collection as an anthology. This is where we start to see short films and soundtracks to accompany the clothes.

The essence is still there, but with a stronger point of view now four shows under his belt. A platform of nuance used to explore ideals of inclusivity, unity, and humanity. Imbuing those values into the traditional codes of luxury becomes even more important. Abloh’s manifesto overtly touches race. He uses himself as a supporting argument.  

At this halfway marks comes another origin story. It builds on his glossary while transporting us to a new setting with Zoooom and friends. These characters become another tool for examining the story of an outsider in traditional spaces, particularly the fashion establishment. All the while still pulling threads from chapter 1, like the color gradient inspired by the Wizard of Oz.

Really, this is all one big open source model for developing a subculture. Relevant today as the current rise of niche enthusiasms is a social indicator of iconoclastic proportions. In the process, nothing becomes obsolete. It’s all alchemized into new form. Energy cannot be created or destroyed.