Virgil Abloh's harnesses are the "keystone" of his new Louis Vuitton collection.
Timothee Chalamet
The 38-year-old creative director's "mid-layer" garments have been seen on Timothee Chalamet at the Golden Globe Awards and Michael B. Jordan at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, and the designer believes the eye-catching pieces are very "empowering".
He said: "It was the actual very first thing I designed.
"I wore it to the Met Gala. . . . It doesn't have the comfort or the security of a jacket, but it's somehow empowering."
Virgil viewed his pre-fall collection, including the harnesses, as a "safe haven" to experiment with some new ideas.
He told Vogue.com: "I see and understand the vitality of clothes that people actually wear.
"The pre-collection was a safe haven to test out ideas, to start defining that palette."
Although the harness style vest features heavily in his pre-fall range, Virgil's real focus for the brand is staple pieces, and so he is launching a standalone capsule collection called Staples Edition which will feature essential items such as camel coats, classic suits and jean jackets.
He said: "It's clothing that you wear and don't think twice about, it's letting the savoir faire and the quality be the main signifiers and reasons to purchase."
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