By Yasemina Dayi

Over the past week, the news of Virgil Abloh’s new appointment as Louis Vuitton’s Menswear Artistic Director broke the internet. This is monumental news, not just for Virgil Abloh’s professional career, but for Louis Vuitton’s new leap into streetwear designs and the fashion world as we know it. The new position for Virgil, who is replacing the infamous Mr. Kim Jones, is no surprise to anyone in the fashion community, and is regarded as well deserved.

Abloh’s appointment represents a major moment for the luxury fashion world for many reasons. Abloh is the first African-American Artistic Director at Louis Vuitton, which is a milestone for the community. He also has no formal fashion training or schooling, but has proven himself with his brand “Off-White.”

This position is yet another indication that the luxury brand is looking to tap into the “hypebeast” focus, as they proved with their Supreme collab earlier this year. “Virgil is incredibly good at creating bridges between the classic and the zeitgeist of the moment,” Louis Vuitton’s Chief Executive, Michael Burke, told the Business of Fashion in an interview on March 26. This adds to the speculation of Louis Vuitton going full streetwear in further collections. However, Abloh has made more than just hype pieces as he has proven in his “BUSINESSWOMAN ” collection, which showed a more sophisticated side of his mind and increases hope that he might maintain Louis Vuitton’s infamous style.

Louis Vuitton also announced just last week that Kim Jones, Abloh’s predecessor, will become the Men’s Artistic Director for Dior Homme. This shows that only good can come from working for Louis Vuitton and, not to mention, also provides a great addition to anyone’s fashion resume.

Many in the fashion community believe Abloh will finish what Jones started and continue to represent modern streetwear in Louis Vuitton’s upcoming men’s collections. We will see his creative vision come to life with his first collection set for showing in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.