Super Surprise: Why Louis Vuitton Chose Kidsuper to Co-create Next Menswear Collection

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KidSuper founder Colm Dillane, with just two Paris Fashion Week shows under his belt, is to return next week with a remarkable new gig at Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury house.

The Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2023 menswear collection, which will be presented on 19 January, was created by the men’s studio “with the participation of” Dillane. “In other words, Colm is embedded into the men’s studio,” the house said Tuesday. The show will also feature scenography by Lina Kutsovskaya and French directors Michel and Olivier Gondry, who directed a prelude film for the show. And expect an appearance from a yet to be disclosed “world-famous music star”.

According to the house, this marks a continuation of the talent collective concept already seen in the last two seasons following the death of Virgil Abloh, the house’s men’s artistic director. Kutsovskaya was a longtime collaborator of Abloh, as was Ib Kamara, who will be behind the styling of the upcoming show.

So why has Louis Vuitton elected Dillane?

It appears that this season’s collaborative format, which through his “embedded” cameo role effectively makes Dillane its first-ever guest runway designer, has been planned to act as a placeholder. Ever since the sudden death of Abloh in November 2021, the house has been carefully considering the sensitive question of who might replace him – a huge ask given Abloh’s generational impact and influence. Many names (including Dillane’s) have been mooted. However, by handing the task of headlining its menswear output only temporarily to Dillane, it deflates that pressure while simultaneously affording the company time to align and execute its future plans for creative strategy – and possibly the eventual appointment of a long-term successor to Abloh.

LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton is the world’s largest luxury house: its sales surged 20 per cent to €20.6 billion in 2022 and are expected to reach €21.9 billion in 2023, according to HSBC estimates. Menswear may not represent the bulk of the business, but the role of men’s artistic director is key given the size of the house, the importance of leather goods, which represent over 70 per cent of the house’s sales according to analysts, and the halo effect of the men’s designer’s creative vision on the overall brand’s desirability.