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Thirty-three years after it dazzled the French at the Bastille Day Parade, Florida A&M University’s Marching “100” Band electrified the Louis Vuitton Men’s Fashion Show at the Louvre Thursday.
The Marching “100” perform at the Louis Vuitton Paris Men’s Fashion Show
We brought Tallahassee; we brought Florida A&M; we brought the Incomparable Marching ‘100’ to Paris by performing all the highlights we perform at Bragg Memorial Stadium and traveling on the road. That made it special.
Paris, France, June 23
Led by Drum Majors Jalen Roberts and Jarvis Rittman, the 35-member contingent of the band opened with “Mighty Rattler” followed by “Rattler to the Bone,” then “Get Up.” They were then followed by male models, who walked the runway to the lyrics of Kendrick Lamar, who performed alongside the runway. After the last model left the runway, the band returned to perform their standard “SOS.”
Director of Bands Shelby Chipman, Ph.D., and some members of the Band staff had front row seats in the stands just several feet away from the runway.
The idea for a marching band performance in the men’s fashion show had been a long-held vision of Louis Vuitton Creative Director Virgil Abloh, who died last November at age 41. After researching bands online, the show’s producers chose the Marching “100.” The invitation came at the end of May and was followed by three frenetic weeks of selecting 35 students and 10 staff for the all-expenses paid trip, arranging music and routines and securing passports.
Louis Vuitton held its Spring-Summer 2023 Men’s Fashion Show outdoors in the Cour Carrée, one of the main courtyards of Louvre museum. Soccer, fashion, and entertainment stars mingled on the runway before the event began. After the performance, fashion and sneaker designer and founder of the Fear of God luxury streetwear label, Jerry Lorenzo, a FAMU alumnus, met briefly with the band members.
Crowds of spectators stood on the sidewalk cheering as band members left the venue for their bus. Soon afterward, the Marching “100” then drove to the Eiffel Tower, where they entertained an appreciative crowd of tourists from Mexico, the U.S. and across Europe.