This afternoon, the fashion elite and a host of celebrities (including the Beckham clan) flocked to Palais-Royal to attend the AW18 Louis Vuitton show, Kim Jones' final collection after seven years at the helm of the French fashion house's menswear offering. As one of the most lauded and influential menswear designers in the industry, the announcement of Jones' departure from Louis Vuitton earlier this week took the fashion world and his army of streetwear-obsessed fans by surprise. For his last Louis Vuitton collection, Jones put on a stellar show, with an epic finale that will make his swan song even more memorable. The monogram-heavy collection, which was inspired by "a constant voyage", featured metallic tailoring, shorts layered over monogrammed leggings, a baseball V-neck emblazoned with 'LOUIS', a jumper with a peace sign cleverly woven into the iconic LV logo, a variety of elegant outerwear, ribbed knitwear in vivid colours (all hail that neon yellow roll neck) and incredible marbled digital prints.
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In a genius moment that will go down in the fashion annals, supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss closed the show wearing patent trench coats printed with the iconic LV monogram, finished off with heavy lace-up boots. Kim Jones took to Instagram directly after the event, explaining that the legendary duo's guest appearance in the men's show was an homage to Marc Jacobs' early '00s tenure at Louis Vuitton, and a symbol of thanks to the man who got Jones the job in the first place.
As Jones came out to take his final bow, he was joined by the supermodel pair as the entire audience, including David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Beckham, Lewis Hamilton, Joe Jonas and Gwendoline Christie rose to give him a standing ovation. Designers Virgil Abloh, Olivier Rousteing, Craig Green, Humberto Leon, and Chitose Abe of Sacai also sat in the front row, testament to how widely Kim Jones is adored, by celebrities, fashion aficionados and fellow designers alike. We cannot wait to see how he follows up this epic end to his reign at Louis Vuitton with his next fashion move. Watch this space.