White Canvas: LV Trainer in Residence in Milan
Hosted at Garage Traversi in Milan, the exhibition features the artists’ original hand-painted sneaker adaptations within the context of their works, as well as immersive multi-media installations charting the collaborations.
Savoir-Faire: Originally designed by Virgil Abloh for his debut Louis Vuitton show, the LV Trainer fuses the authentic codes of basketball shoes with the iconography and savoir-faire of the Maison. Today, it has become an icon in the sneaker community and a staple of the Men’s Collection in both low-top and high-top expressions. Each pair of LV Trainers is created in the Maison’s Italian ateliers in Fiesso d’Artico and requires no less than seven hours of manufacturing.
Scenography & Exhibition Design
The exhibition launches inside Louis Vuitton’s Milan store at Garage Traversi with three renovated editions of the emblematic sneaker. Curated by Sky Gellatly, the initial installment features iterations made by Ecuador-born, New York-bred graffiti artist Lady Pink, Puerto Rico-hailing subway artist Lee Quiñones and the Estate of Rammellzee. An invitation for creative collaboration, the exhibition expands upon Louis Vuitton’s deep-rooted relationships in the artistic spheres.
The ongoing project, which was initially formed by former Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh, provides artists with an all-white leather low-top LV Trainer as their blank canvas. The silhouette, which Abloh originally designed for Spring/Summer 2019, merges classic the basketball-shoe shape with the savoir-faire of the French fashion house. Now a Maison essential, the sneaker is available in both low-top and high-top constructions.
Photos courtesy of Louis Vuitton.