It takes something big to reunite the original supermodels (aka the 'supers') on the catwalk almost three decades after their heyday. The last time the 'team' assembled was back in 2017, for the spring/summer Versace show in honour of the 20th anniversary of Gianni Versace's death. And now, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Amber Valletta et al have hit the catwalk together once more for a show to honour the legacy of Virgil Abloh, who passed away in November 2021.
Last night's Off-White AW22 show marked the opening of this season's Paris Fashion Week and the first since Abloh's passing. Entitled 'Spaceship Earth: An Imaginary Experience', it was a glorious tribute to the late designer, as well as a celebration of his lasting impact on fashion, people and the world around him.
The show brought together some of Abloh's nearest and dearest, from Pharrell, Rihanna and ASAP Rocky on the front row to the likes of Bianca Balti, Karen Elson and Serena Williams hitting the runway in his honour – alongside the 'original supers' and Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner and the Hadid sisters representing the 'new guard'.
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And as for the clothes? Off-White presented two collections: ready-to-wear as well as a new, couture-like, high fashion line which had been 'designed by Virgil and completed by the creative teams and collaborators with whom he worked'. Abloh design signatures were rife throughout the collection, from elevated streetwear and cargo-style separates to his trademark tongue-in-cheek 'quote' phrases – the most poignant of which came in the form of a white flag which read 'question everything'.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Clementina Jackson is Acting Site Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, working across news and features, trends, e-commerce and SEO. She was previously Fashion Editor at Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health, and Acting Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, where she was named as a PPA 30 Under 30 award winner for her work on size inclusivity. An experienced fashion, travel and luxury lifestyle journalist, Clementina has also written for Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveller, Tatler, Red and Italy Segreta.
