Virgil Abloh launches first Louis Vuitton menswear campaign starring three-year-old toddler

The campaign highlights the ‘different stages in one’s life’, the designer states

Virgil Abloh has launched his first menswear campaign for French fashion house Louis Vuitton, featuring a three-year-old toddler as one of the starring models.

Abloh, who became artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear branch in March 2018, decided to focus the theme of the brand's Spring/Summer 2019 menswear line on the various stages of life that human beings go through.

As such, the campaign features several young male models, including a three-year-old called Anyieth.

The first official images for the campaign were shot by fashion photographer duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin and were released on 21 January to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the US.

Abloh explains that he wanted to create a campaign that resonated with consumers and was "universal and human at the core".

"I decided I was going to focus the campaign on boyhood, not men’s wear. What makes men? The different stages in one’s life, from infancy all the way through teenager, adolescent, young adult to adult,” the designer tells WWD.

The photos of the campaign released by Louis Vuitton are only the first batch, with the second due to be unveiled on 1 February.

In addition to Anyieth, the campaign also features seven-year-old actor Leo James Davis, who portrayed a child with suspected gender dysphoria in the 2018 drama A Kid Like Jake, and 16-year-old actor Luke Prael, who's starred in films including Eighth Grade and Boarding School.

The aesthetic for the Spring/Summer 2019 range was inspired by the Wizard of Oz, as shown by Anyieth wearing the brand's "yellow brick road sweater".

Davis is also pictured in front of a rainbow backdrop wearing a Wizard of Oz-themed sweater, designed with the silhouettes of Judy Garland and her co-stars in the 1939 film.

The Louis Vuitton campaign imagery is accompanied by a video, which depicts Anyieth and the other young male models playing and embracing their childlike nature.

"I say I'm still a boy. I still have a lot of time to grow," the voiceover says as the video ends.

The second phase of the campaign will pay tribute to a 19th Century painting by French artist Gustave Courbet, called "The Painter's Studio".

It's been shot by photographer Mohamed Bourouissa, who's previously displayed his work at various esteemed institutions including the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Abloh has recently come under fire for allegedly copying work from another designer.

The controversy began when designer Michelle Elie took to Instagram to accuse Abloh of copying clothing that her son had designed for Arise Fashion Week in Nigeria, describing Abloh's work as "fake fashion".

The Independent has contacted Abloh's representatives for comment on the claims.