Virgil Abloh—the late designer who spearheaded Louis Vuitton’s menswear and his own label, Off-White—was another king of wearing his own designs. In July last year, Abloh arrived at a Louis Vuitton dinner wearing a black suit with multicolor buttons, a white shirt, and a tie that read, “A Formality.” That cheeky logo message was a signature detail in his Off-White pieces, where his boots could read, “For Walking.” Rick Owens, fashion’s dark prince, also has a wardrobe full of his own signature items: He’s practically draped in his black, slinky jerseys and monstrous-looking shoes around the clock.
It’s not just about the art of wearing your own clothes on the streets, though. Designers like Gabriela Hearst have even appeared in their own lookbooks, representing their frocks loud and proud. Others, like Miuccia Prada, have styled their shows based on their own approach to dressing up. When Prada’s models clutch their coats, for instance, it’s a clear nod to Miuccia. The same goes for Ralph Lauren’s blazers-with-jeans styling or Demna Gvasalia’s oversized hoodies—you can see them in the pieces.
Sure, it may seem like an obvious idea. Of course designers produce clothes they would want to wear. But designers aren’t always such mascots of their own work. Take someone like Comme des Garçons’s Rei Kawakubo. A master of all-black minimalism, her own wardrobe defies the voluminous, colorful, and avant-garde pieces she sends down the runway. This could also be said about Tom Ford, the prim-and-proper, suited-up designer whose ready-to-wear garments ooze sex appeal. It’s not always the case that a designer’s personal style mimics their collections. But in today’s world, where everyone needs their own personal brand, perhaps designers are realizing the power of self-advertising more and more.
