The fashion industry is in mourning after it was announced that Virgil Abloh, 41, founder of Off-White and Men's Artistic Director at Louis Vuitton, died on Sunday from a rare and aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. Messages started pouring in on social media from fans, fashion houses and designers, all of them left in disbelief by the tragic news.
A post on Abloh's Instagram account read: "We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend (...) For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.
Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity, and optimism never wavered. Virgil was driven by his dedication to his craft and to his mission to open doors for others and create pathways for greater equality in art and design." Born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1980, from parents who emigrated to the United States from Ghana, Virgil Abloh developed his interest in fashion when he became passionate about skateboarding, but actually studied Civil Engineering and Architecture.
He became Kanye West's Creative Director in 2002, designing the rapper's album covers (for Kanye West and Jay-Z's joint album "Watch the Throne", as well as West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy", among others) and merchandise as well.
From 2009 Abloh focused more on fashion, attending the Paris fashion shows, and joining Kanye West for a one month internship at the Fendi headquarters in Rome. In 2012 Abloh launched his sporty/streetwear project Pyrex Vision (now defunct), starting by printing the name of the brand on Ralph Lauren shirts.
At the end of 2013, he moved onto Off-White (owned by the Milan-based NGG-New Guards Group that produced and distributed Marcelo Burlon County of Milan and Palm Angels, among the other brands; the group was bought by Farfetch in 2019).
While at Off-White, Abloh applied for federal trademark protection for a generic logo characterised by black and white thick diagonal stripes, put words in Helvetica in quotation marks ("Sculpture" on a bag or "For Walking", on boots, for example) and launched a series of collaborations with Nike, Ikea, Sunglass Hut and German luggage maker Rimowa, just to mention a few ones.
With Off-White Abloh followed rather unorthodox processes: in genuine post-modern style he borrowed from different places (a practice he continued in more recent years at Louis Vuitton), often without mentioning the source (sueing those who in turn copied Off White).
Off-White's logo, showing two arrows criss-crossing (a motif often accompanied by stripes), was lifted from the logo designed by Kinnear Calvert & Associates for Glasgow Airport in the '60s, while the graphic design on one of the brand's T-shirts echoed Lucio Fontana and its collections featured references to previous Dior and Prada designs or to Lady D's wardrobe.
Abloh also entered the art world thanks to a project at the Gagosian Gallery in London with previous Louis Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami, and with the 2019 "Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech" exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, recently relaunched in Doha, Qatar.
In 2017, at the Florence menswear show Pitti Uomo, Abloh also collaborated with artist Jenny Holzer on a piece that focused on the immigrant crisis, a social issue that became dear to his heart as proved by the uniforms the designer created in the same year for Melting Passes, a team of recently immigrated soccer players in Paris whose lack of residency status meant they were excluded from playing in official competitions.
In 2018 Abloh was championed by Kim Jones to take over the job of Menswear Creative Director at Louis Vuitton. Abloh shared the news with his Instagram followers at the time by posting a picture of a LV trunk.
Abloh became the first African-American to lead a Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy-owned brand and a 164-year-old French luxury house.
In the last few years he focused more on social projects: in August 2020 he launched his Post-Modern Scholarship Fund as a progressive response to Black Lives Matter, and has since worked to raise funds and support for Black-owned businesses.
In July 2021 LVMH announced that he would consult for the conglomerate at an executive level.
Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH, that owns Louis Vuitton and a 60 percent stake in Off-White, said in a statement: "Virgil was not only a genius designer and a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and a great wisdom."
In our times health has become the ultimate luxury and treasure as we all suffer from some kind of mental or physical illness. Maybe Abloh's death should inspire some of the most powerful fashion conglomerates to support scientific and medical research through special funds and scholarships.
Virgil Abloh is survived by his wife Shannon, and children Lowe and Grey, as well as his parents Nee and Eunice and sister Edwina. Louis Vuitton's Miami show scheduled for tomorrow and featuring Abloh's S/S 22 menwear collection will go ahead as planned.
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