“I’ve been focused, in terms of my art and creativity, in getting adults to behave like children again. That they go back into this sense of wonderment. They start to stop using their mind and they start using their imagination.” Those were the words spoken by Virgil Abloh as his final collection for Louis Vuitton menswear was shown in Miami, just two days after the deeply saddening news of his passing. A hot air balloon on site, flaming red and stamped with LV, cemented that wonderment. But there were always feelings of wonder and fantasy felt within Virgil’s collections. That limitless mindset was his greatest asset - after his first Louis Vuitton menswear show, he captioned the photograph of him running down the rainbow runway ‘you can do it too…”. With the soft, surreal sounds of Lauren Auder’s ‘in god’s childlike hands’ a very-Virgil loosely tailored black suit cinched at the waist came swaggering, with flashes of his favourite neon green and protective boxing-esque gloves, warrior like. Suits came crisp in mint greens and deep sea blues, snow-white coats featured scalloped edges, tie dye played out in pink and white on ballooning tiered skirts and rainbow monograms melted like ice cream on jackets.

And while it was heavy, and so incredibly sad, Virgil had everyone bouncing to Clipse’s ‘Momma I’m So Sorry’ and DJ Die’s ‘Reincarnations’ because it simply wouldn’t be a Virgil Abloh show without the best soundtrack of the season. LV was proudly embroidered on varsity jackets, ‘Vuitton Rockers’ played out on crewnecks, soft faux fur ear muffs felt mischievous, cloud grey suits were perfectly put together with matching bowler bags, and classic-Virgil mountainous idyllic landscapes were printed onto suits. This is Virgil’s wonderland, his ultimate playground where he mastered using his imagination and where he was able to make his wildest dreams happen. He has captured that sense of wonderment he spoke of in all of his collections, and dared us to not only dream, but to go forth and make those dreams come true. He has been, as Tyler the Creator wrote in a tribute, everyone’s biggest cheerleader. For the finale, the Louis Vuitton team tearfully took Virgil’s bow and his voice spoke: “There’s no limit. Life is so short that you can't waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do.” We missed him running down that runway. As fireworks lit up the Miami sky to Bobby Krlic’s ‘The House that Harga Built’, it was certain that Virgil was here, very much so. And he’ll continue to be, forever, as his influence has touched us all.

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