Michael Jackson-themed Virgil Abloh bids to be cool king of Paris fashion

Virgil Abloh bent the knee to Michael Jackson – a fellow African American from the Midwest whose “prodigious talent catapulted him to unparalleled fame” – in his Louis Vuitton show at Paris men’s fashion week on Thursday.

The designer – the first African American ever to lead a major Paris label – did not make a direct comparison between himself and the “King of Pop”. But there was plenty there for those wishing to read between the lines.

The 38-year-old’s bravura celebrity-studded show for his own ultra hot Off-White brand hogged the Paris limelight on Wednesday. And his Vuitton show the next day in the former royal Tuileries gardens confirmed the streetwear guru as the new pretender to the title of king of the catwalk.

The designer is jousting with Georgian-born Demna Gvasalia, who designs for Balenciaga and his own post-Soviet tinged poverty chic brand, Vetements, for the title of most influential creator on the block.

Abloh threw down the gauntlet by sending out a sparkly Michael Jackson white glove as his invitation to the show.

He penned a long tribute to Jackson in his notes and posted a poem he wrote about him to his 3.4 million Instagram followers.