Later today, what is officially called the “Louis Vuitton Spring 2024 Men’s Capsule Collection by Tyler, The Creator” will go on sale around the world. To mark the release, the house premiered a short film this morning that gives us a glimpse into the creative process that led to this seismic menswear moment.
As Pharrell Williams said when the collection was first announced, “There are so many elements that are specific to Tyler built into these pieces.” The film, directed, art-directed and designed by Tyler, playfully unpacks some of these elements. Their conceit is to follow Louis Vuitton’s newest designer collaborator as he photographs this capsule collection with his super-sized “Tyler” (not Leica) 35mm SLR camera, complete with super-sized light meter. Another Easter egg for the Creator’s cognoscenti is the fleeting cameo appearance of a custom LV bike — just not the one he rode at the fall 2022 “Louis Dreamhouse” show.
The film focuses firmly on a collection that samples and subverts canonical cornerstones of preppiness – golf gear, cricket jerseys, varsity jackets, fair isle knits, chinos – while also leaning into the broader dandy aesthetic Williams carved out at LV. The casting of Jason Jules, co-author of the excellent book Black Dandy: a rebellion in style (he’s the gentleman in the pink cardigan and penny loafers) is most likely absolutely no coincidence. Some of the completed campaign photos – especially the airplane image – also feel like references to previous manifestations of Louis Vuitton’s visual language.
Other significant casting includes Tyler’s Odd Future collaborators Travis Bennett and Na-Kel Smith, and designer Anwar Carrots. As hairstylist Ronnie McCoy III — responsible for the LV cut seen in Basquiat Oriol in the film — noted on his Instagram, “Thanks ain’t enough T. You got the keys and let the homies come with you.” That mirrored exactly what Tyler, the Creator himself, said about Pharrell when we first heard this collection was coming: “P has always left a door open for me, but I still can’t believe this one.”
