Louis Vuitton and the NBA team up for a men's capsule collection

Arriving in November, men will soon be able to don upscale sportswear

A kit bag, part of the LV x NBA capsule collection, which launches next month. Courtesy Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton menswear designer Virgil Abloh has teamed up with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to create a limited-edition capsule collection.

In January, Vuitton announced the signing of a three-year deal with the NBA, the first glimpse of which was seen on October 11, after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat. The team was presented with the Larry O'Brien championship trophy, which arrived in a custom-made, hand-built Louis Vuitton case.

Now, the French house has released a sneak peek at the first men's capsule that will arrive in stores in November. Titled Louis Vuitton x NBA, this collection combines the upscale luxury of the maison with the sporting chops of basketball.

Even the colour scheme of red, white and blue, the colours of the NBA as well as the French flag, echoes across both brands.

The LV x NBA capsule collection, launching November 2020. Courtesy Vuitton

Of the partnership, American designer Abloh is described as having been “motivated by the exchange between French craftsmanship and American sports”, and has created a collection that successfully melds these two very different worlds.

Abloh has created heavy soled Vuitton boots that carry an NBA swing tag, while a two-button jacket has been covered in the NBA motif of a basketball player, now reduced to a repeating pattern.

A leather jacket etched with the lines of a basketball, as part of the LV x NBA capsule collection, launching November 2020. Courtesy Vuitton

Elsewhere, an embossed leather blouson jacket is etched with the flowing lines of a basketball, as a tri-colour kit bag has been repurposed to carry a basketball.

The accompanying notes explain that Abloh was eager to build on the "iconography of the basketball universe". In creating this new space, his resulting designs feel light-spirited and fresh.

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