Chadwick Boseman Debuts Virgil Abloh’s First Designs for Louis Vuitton at ESPYs

There’s no unseating Chadwick Boseman as fashion’s red carpet king. At Wednesday’s 26th annual ESPY Awards, held at the Microsoft Theater in L.A., the Black Panther star had yet another standout style moment in a monochromatic white look with urban-sportif accents from Virgil Abloh’s inaugural spring 2019 collection for Louis Vuitton. (Abloh recently took the reins as the men’s artistic director and first African-American menswear designer for the French luxury brand.) 

“We are really honored and thrilled that Chadwick’s the first person to ever wear Virgil’s debut collection,” said Boseman’s stylist, Ashley Weston, in an exclusive phone chat with The Hollywood Reporter. “When we saw the presentation in Paris in June, it was incredible. All the cream and off-white looks in the beginning were especially stunning. We wanted to wear every single look and thought it would be perfect for this moment, if we could get our hands on some pieces, so we were really happy to be able to get one of our favorites — a beautiful, all-white suited look with a cream-colored leather harness worn on top. We paired it with thick-soled, white-and-cream Louis Vuitton sneakers with gold hardware detail.”

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A long-time fan of Abloh’s designs, Boseman has sported the designer’s buzzy streetwear label Off-White on several occasions, most notably a pre-spring 2019 denim-on-denim look embellished with impressionist-inspired artwork at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in June. And this isn’t the first time the actor has looked right in white: He donned an all-white Versace ensemble with a cape jacket and gilded cross detailing at the Met Gala in May. But the Louis Vuitton look leans more clean, albeit with the edgy details that have become a Boseman signature.

“This suit feels very fresh and modern and is completely in keeping with the vibe we’ve been doing for a while now, so I’m really excited about it,” Weston said. “It’s very different than what other people will be wearing and appropriate for this time of year. Since it’s super hot and sunny outside, we wanted to keep the look light in creamy white.”

The ESPY Awards air at 8 p.m. tonight on ET/PT.