Today in London, Louis Vuitton is launching an exclusive preview of their capsule collection with Japanese streetwear legend and musician, Hiroshi Fujiwara, with a two-week pop-up at Harrods. 

Centred around a fictional band, the new line was realised in collaboration with Vuitton’s director of menswear, Kim Jones – a close friend of Fujiwara’s for over 20-years. Uniting references from Tokyo, New York and Paris, ‘Louis V and The Fragments’ (themed around a fictional band) encompasses their shared passion for sportswear silhouettes, graphic motifs and music. Standout pieces include college-style bomber jackets, degrade monogram shirts and playful accessories such as the Tokyo-Paris berets, retro patches and pins.

Fujiwara rose to fame in the late ‘80s as one of Tokyo’s first hip-hop DJs and with his clothing label, Goodenough. At the time, a music-obsessive Fujiwara had travelled to London and New York, where he immersed himself in the cities’ post-punk, hip-hop and skate scenes. The trip provided a revelation for Fujiwara who’s primary experience with style and fashion had mostly consisted of high-end modernist Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto. He discovered a new perspective on youth culture, finding a seamless world where music, fashion and art met.

Inspired, the budding DJ hooked up with label, Major Force and started playing hip-hop records at gigs, and began wearing Western skate brands. Fujiwara’s cultural imports played an integral role in the emergence of Ura-Harajuku fashion and skate culture in the region, his label immediately achieved cult status and ultimately changed the face of street style in Japan. He subsequently went on to mentor Jun Takahashi, who would go on to found the avant-garde label Undercover, and Nigo, who would launch his own line, A Bathing Ape, and he carved a career as a producer specialising in remixes. Fujiwara now runs Fragment Design, known for its high fashion streetwear and insanely hyped collaborations, with fans lining up on a regular basis for the latest sneaker drops and luxe t-shirts.

Coming full circle, the collaboration is also a natural evolution from Vuitton’s last menswear offering, which tapped into the styles and layers of NYC subcultural history.

Tokyo has often been a source of inspiration for Jones, as seen in his FW15 collection, which paid tribute to the late Christopher Nemeth and the city’s Harajuku 80s and 90s fashion scene – the same youth tribes that Fujiwara was at the centre of. Coming full circle, the collaboration is also a natural evolution from Vuitton’s last menswear offering, which tapped into the styles and layers of NYC subcultural history. Jones drew from the Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat years, the same era that Fujiwara debuted to Japanese audiences and that has come to define his work since.

The Louis Vuitton x Fragment pop-up boutique is now open at Harrods on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London.