othing about Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2023 mens-wear collection could’ve been different. Apart from the androgynous and dare we say, glorious collection, Kendrick Lamar sat frontstage, wearing heels, and his crown of thorns (more on it below) singing a combination of songs from his new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Kendrick stayed seated throughout the presentation, wearing a Louis Vuitton-designed suit, his crown of thorns, a pair of heels as he presented cuts of songs such as ‘Saviour’, ‘Rich Spirit’, ‘N95’ and ‘Count Me Out’. He also shouted Abloh’s name every chance he got. The performance was part of a tribute to Virgil Abloh by LV. What was strange, though, was the absence of Kanye West since Abloh was his protege.

Virgil, who collaborated with Kanye West was the first African-American designer to be tapped by the French luxury label for the role of creative director followed by being “given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021”. Of course, Kanye is still a part of the fashion world with his deal with Gap. But the LV gig is something Kanye West, the rapper and fashion designer, coveted.

Sadly, Virgil Abloh died in November, 2021 at age 41 (in Chicago) succumbing to a form of cancer, an illness he reportedly kept outside the limelight.

Apart from his surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week, Kendrick Lamar also made some fashionable news when the cover of his new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was first released and he was seen wearing a crown of thorns.

From a distance, it may look cheap but the crown is a collaboration between Kendrick Lamar, Dave Free, his partner and manager at PgLang and Tiffany & Co, the latter an American luxury jewelry and specialty retailer. The story behind the crown is also an interesting one.

The custom-made crown was designed over the course of ten months and features 50 thorns, and over 8000 micro diamonds. It took over 1000 hours and multiple designers/craftsmen from Tiffany to handset the diamonds. The components were put together in the jewelry brand’s New York workshop and assembled in Italy where it was custom-set to Kendrick’s head. In the last 12 months, Tiffany has gone onto collaborate with Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles and Pharrell Williams. The cost of this custom-made accessory, which is on Kend-rick’s head at performances and his surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week is approximately 3 million American dollars.