Through his latest menswear show for Louis Vuitton, creative director Virgil Abloh has delivered an astonishing and deeply autobiographical collection.
Abloh has explored what it is to be a black man today, through ideas of conformity, ownership and creativity. It is a riff on the work of American writer James Baldwin, and specifically his essay Stranger in the Village, which details the different reactions to a black man in America and a mountainous Swiss town.
With dazzling tailoring, durags and jackets made into architecture, the collection looked to his own experiences as a man of Ghanaian heritage growing up in America, and now heading a French fashion house.
Western cowboy hats made an appearance, as did richly coloured back-strap-loomed African kente cloths, and even Scottish tartans, over house codes of the Louis Vuitton monogram panelled into jackets, woven into overcoats and even appearing as an airplane-shaped holdall.
The collection, entitled Ebonics / Snake Oil / The Black Box / Mirror, Mirror, opened with an overcoat worn by American singer-songwriter Saul Williams, who also voices the accompanying film, fastened with aircraft-shaped buttons.
It moved through some truly beautiful tailoring; from simple, double-breasted suits to coats that pool on the floor, and from street wear in ultra luxe finishes to motorbike leathers decorated with a vaguely Ghanaian wax print pattern.
Durags were worn under trilby hats and on top of sharp suiting, and there were even jackets featuring skyscrapers of New York, the Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower of Paris. These were quirky, and almost out of place amid the rest of the deeply thoughtful array, but instead speak of Abloh's desire to appeal to a younger crowd, as he knows they will garner the social media hits.
In the accompanying film, directed by Josh Johnson, the spoken narrative is blistering. Williams is centre stage, reciting a long list of people and events that have shaped the modern world, from Shakespeare to Jimmy Hendrix and Gandhi. Poised and powerful, we watch him move through a constructed space as the other models sail past him. Another narrator, the British poet and activist Kai Isaiah Jamal, urges that “as marginalised people, the world is here for our taking, for it takes so much from us”.
Many of the pieces come adorned with slogans by the conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner, who brings his wordplay to high fashion. Bags come emblazoned with "tourist vs purist", "the same place at the same time" and "you can tell a book by its cover".
In this, his sixth outing for Louis Vuitton, Abloh uses the collection to tackle the thorny issue of racism, using an almost entirely black and non-white line-up of models.
Before the show, the virtual invitation arrived written on a paper coffee cup, a move explained in the accompanying show notes. "Who came up with the paper cup?" the notes ask. "The metal nail? The pencil? It begs the question of who can claim creation: who gets to make art, and who gets to consume it."
In answer, Abloh has created a breathtaking collection that speaks eloquently and beautifully of an unending quest to be seen.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
Summer special
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
