Louis Vuitton Brings the Beach to Runway

July 08, 2026

The wave is the great equalizer. On coasts around the world, the same impulse draws humans towards the tide, to answer the call of the monumental water force, and to reflect the rhythm of the ocean. Through the innovative savoir-faire of Louis Vuitton, heritage and durability morph into a technical expression of suiting engineered for the globetrotting dandy suspended between the city and the surf.

Built for the coast and the ocean, the surfer's distinctive dress code is founded in travel, performance and craft. Drawing a parallel between these shared sartorial values of the surfer and the dandy at the heart of the House, Men's Creative Director Pharrell Williams reinforces his characteristic dandy silhouette and imbues it with the hand-spun textures, sea-centric embellishments and bohemian spirit of surf culture.

Guided by surfing as a worldwide way of life that transcends culture and creed, the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2027 Men's Collection embraces the sea and shore as spaces of universal human belonging. Water courses through the show as a representation of life, opportunity and connection to nature. As the moon — the wavemaker — appears on the Parisian evening sky, the collection emerges from a great wave emblematic of the equilibrium that unites the surfing community and the world it navigates.

A cinematic prelude stars surfers Mikey February and Julian Wilson while guests in Paris are met by the roar of the great wave. The musical crashing of falling water encounters an epic soundtrack of new productions recorded in Pharrell Williams' Louis Vuitton studio in sync with the creation of the collection.

Models emerge from a wave, suspended in time yet with water still in motion, onto the sandy runway. Parked by the dunes of the show sits a chrome camper, reimagined through the future-facing design language of Pharrell Williams. The set places the elements that shape a water-guided nomadic life as a part of the hyper-sensorial performance.

Performance-infused tailoring fabrics are introduced to technical wetsuits. With their timeworn, weathered and mended characteristics, the archetypes and materials of the surfer's everyday wardrobe are conveyed through the artisanal alchemy of Louis Vuitton. Through Pharrell Williams' ongoing exploration of trompe l'oeil, familiar textures, shapes and staples are augmented with savoir-faire to create optical illusions revealed through touch.

Bringing the symbols of the sea to life, surface decorations are created with painstaking handwork. From acid colours to chequerboard motifs, graphics inspired by surf culture in turn pay homage to skateboarding: a formative and enduring influence for the Men's Creative Director.

Inspired by the collection, Louis Vuitton supports Coral Gardeners as part of its Regeneration 2030 sustainability roadmap to further reef restoration efforts in French Polynesia. The initiative will support the out-planting of 1,000 corals in the Tiaia restoration site and help restore 250 square metres of reef habitat in 2026.

Fashion

Henri Ping's VIGEÉ

July 03, 2026

Every year, Central Saint Martins graduate collections, from Alexander McQueen to Stella McCartney, become the opening chapters of iconic careers. Henri Ping's BA graduate collection, VIGEÉ, is set to become the latest chapter in this illustrious canon.

Enlisting the help of photographer Iga Drobisz and stylist Billy Lobos, Ping's collection is a desaturated exploration of '90s rock and Victorian royal aesthetics, drawing inspiration from the aristocratic portraiture of Vigée Le Brun and lacework uncovered in London's vintage markets.

VIGEÉ's is melting pot of inspirations, united by Ping's fascination with undefinable ideas: things that can only be understood through the lens of history. He cites films such as David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) and Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006) as key reference points for his reinterpretation of history.

Text by JohnOswald Crichton
Photography by Iga Drobisz
Creative Direction by Henri Ping
Styling by Billy Lobos
Makeup by Alice Dodds
Hair by Motoharu
Casting by Mikey Mendoza

Fashion

Saint Laurent Has Nothing to Prove

Across 40 looks, Vaccarello explores restraint as seduction and the luxury of absence. The collection nods to figures who made restraint a virtue and omission a form of expression: Marguerite Duras, whose writing found meaning in what remained unsaid; Tina Chow, whose legendary style embraced reduction rather than excess; and the fictional Mr. Ripley, whose outward composure concealed a far more complicated interior life. These figures not only represent a devotion to reductivism, but their styles are rooted in fundamental simplicity.

Summer 2027 Men’s is not simply a rejection of stylistic maximalism. It is a rejection of our need to always know, always speak, always see. We have forgotten the pleasure of the unknown, the unseen and the unspoken.

This idea extends into the presentation itself. Models move through Fujiko Nakaya's Cloud #07156, but approach the fog with a choreographed performance. Emerging, disappearing and reappearing within a luminous landscape of mist, they become part of the work itself. Rather than lost in the haze, they confidently stroll through it. The installation is not a backdrop. It is an active participant in the collection’s narrative—another expression of absence, presence and desire.

Fashion

*Better With Age Introduces the Virgin Vintage Collection

July 02, 2026

Following the presentation of their SS27 collection in Paris, *Better With Age has introduced Virgin Vintage, a capsule that looks to the history of American denim while embracing the wear and tear that gives it character. Handmade in Los Angeles from rare vintage selvedge denim sourced on the roll, every piece begins as a blank canvas, intended to soften, fade, and develop a patina unique to its owner over years of wear rather than seasons of trend cycles.

The collection revisits familiar workwear staples through *Better With Age's lens. While the silhouettes borrow from decades of American utility dressing, the construction remains rooted in traditional denim-making techniques. Chain-stitch embroidery, copper rivets and hardware, and more, all reference the craftsmanship associated with the golden era of American denim manufacturing, placing as much importance on how each garment is made as how it will eventually look after years of wear. Rather than chasing a pre-distressed finish, Virgin Vintage leaves the final chapter to the wearer, allowing every use to become part of the garment's story.