À partir du 30 septembre, Paris accueille “The Codes”, la première grande exposition européenne consacrée à Virgil Abloh. Dix jours pour pénétrer dans l’esprit d’un créateur qui a redéfini les frontières du design, en partenariat avec Nike.
Under the glass roof of the Grand Palais, the spotlights turn on. Cut-out silhouettes, carefully labeled prototypes, posters, garments, sneakers. A constellation of objects that, when brought together, tell more than the story of a career — they reveal a vision. The Codes doesn’t just showcase; it deciphers. Each piece, each archive, each prototype becomes a clue to understanding the “codes” that structured Virgil’s thinking. From Off-White to Louis Vuitton, and his The Ten collection with Nike, his visual language shaped an entire generation.
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Presented in the capital on the symbolic date of his birthday (September 30), the exhibition retraces the intellectual and aesthetic journey of a creator who turned design into discourse — bringing together more than 2,000 pieces from the Virgil Abloh Archive. Each space is built around his foundational principles, which he applied across every medium: to question, simplify, quote, and remix. A conceptual approach, yet always grounded in reality — where the product becomes a manifesto.
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Shannon Abloh
CEO of Virgil Abloh Securities
Jordan at the Heart of the Exhibition
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Throughout the exhibition, sneakers appear as the common thread of a narrative. Iconic models are displayed alongside unfinished prototypes, each revealing as much about the process as the final product. Among the most coveted pieces: the Air Jordan 1 High “Canary”. First seen in Virgil’s studio, it stands as a symbol — a bold reinterpretation of Jordan’s first signature shoe, balancing homage and experimentation.
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Next to it, the Air Jordan 1 High “Alaska”. Displayed in its prototype form, it pays tribute to the revolutionary first sample born from the collaboration with Jordan. While the first Off-White x Air Jordan 1 High was officially introduced in 2018, this version features an entirely white palette and the deconstructed elements that define Virgil Abloh’s signature style.
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Finally, no exploration of Virgil Abloh’s legacy would be complete without mentioning the Off-White x Air Jordan 4 “Bred” — a silhouette that became legendary even before a public release. First unveiled during the “Figures of Speech” exhibition in 2019, the design was long considered a studio prototype, never progressing beyond the sample stage.
The Codes Experience: Understanding Through Creation
But The Codes is far more than a static exhibition. It’s designed as a dialogue — a living experience. Between two floors, interactive spaces invite visitors to decode Virgil’s visual language. Computers, archival footage, and other digital tools extend the immersion, revealing each stage of the creative process — from the first sketch to the finished piece. From Louis Vuitton to Colette, Timberland, and Baccarat, everything is curated to tell a story — that of a creator who constantly moved between worlds.
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In the same spirit, Nike’s roundtable discussions enrich the experience. Designers, athletes, and collaborators share memories, reflections, and anecdotes about working with Virgil — a way to make tangible what he called “collaborative energy,” a creative force where the collective takes precedence over the individual.
And since no story about Virgil Abloh could ever be told without the Swoosh, Nike occupies a central place in the exhibition. Through archival workshops and exclusive retrospectives, the sportswear brand revisits a decade of collaborations that redefined the codes of sport and style. From the very first Off-White x Air Jordan 1 High to the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1, each creation embodies the same philosophy: deconstruct to reinvent. More than an exhibition, it’s a bridge between past and future — a reminder that ideas never fade away.
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