Walking into Virgil Abloh: The Codes feels like stepping inside the designer’s mind — a vibrant collision of personal objects, posters, everyday items, and archives. At the Grand Palais, the Virgil Abloh Archive and Nike bring to life two decades of creative energy and the spirit of streetwear.

Virgil Abloh (1980–2021) was a multidisciplinary creative — architect, DJ, designer, cultural provocateur. His work blurred the lines between high fashion and streetwear, always infused with references, remixes, and his famous “3% rule”: tweak something just slightly, and it becomes something new.

The display resists the polished, glass-encased distance of traditional museum curation. Instead, it invites visitors to roam, visually rummage, and feel connected to Abloh’s working process — a convergence of street, archive, and studio. Walking through, you see how a pair of deconstructed sneakers, a digital sketch, or a handwritten note all contribute to a larger narrative: creation as collage.

During the exhibition, Colette, the iconic Parisian concept store co-founded by Sarah Andelman, set up in the Rotonde Clemenceau with a special pop-up. There, visitors could discover new products designed by Abloh’s closest collaborators, alongside emblematic pieces that underline his enduring influence.