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- Abloh, who also worked as a DJ and visual artist, had been men's artistic director for Vuitton, the world's biggest luxury brand, since March 2018.
www.reuters.com › lifestyle › louis-vuitton-designer-virgil-abloh-dies-2021/11/28Louis Vuitton star designer Virgil Abloh dies after private ...
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Nov 29, 2021 · Before his untimely death, he was working on plans for a Louis Vuitton fashion show in Miami, Florida, to coincide with the opening of a new men’s store in the city.
- Overview
- Early life and career
- Off-White
- Louis Vuitton and later work
Virgil Abloh (born September 30, 1980, Rockford, Illinois, U.S.—died November 28, 2021, Chicago, Illinois) American designer and entrepreneur who was perhaps best known as the founder of the fashion label Off-White and the creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear. He often took existing ideas from a range of sources, including music, history, an...
Abloh was born to Ghanaian immigrant parents—Nee Abloh, who worked at a paint store, and Eunice Abloh, a seamstress. The latter taught her son how to use a sewing machine and other basics. In 2002 Virgil Abloh graduated with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and in 2006 he received a master’s degree in architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. Outside of school, Abloh was often involved in a number of different projects, including working as a DJ, designing T-shirts, and writing for the blog The Brilliance. Sometime between earning his degrees, he was introduced to Kanye West (later “Ye”), who was gaining attention for his work as a music producer, and Abloh was hired to be a part of West’s creative team in 2007.
In subsequent years Abloh and West collaborated on a variety of endeavours, including a six-month internship (2009) at the Rome headquarters of Italian fashion house Fendi. In 2010 Abloh became the creative director of Donda, West’s creative incubator, helping the musician actualize his aspirations beyond music. Abloh also served as art director on West’s albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013) and on West and Jay-Z’s collaboration, Watch the Throne (2011), which garnered Abloh a Grammy nomination. During this period Abloh also pursued his own undertakings, including opening RSVP Gallery (2009), a boutique and gallery in Chicago, with Don C, a friend and business partner of West’s.
Abloh characterized Off-White as “the gray area between black and white,” a description that was befitting for a label that seemingly hovered between streetwear and luxury fashion. The debut menswear collection featured screen-printed hoodies, denim shirts, anoraks, basketball shorts, and similar garments favoured by youth culture. He used Instagram early on as a means of promoting his work to audiences directly. In 2014 Abloh launched a women’s line and began showing both collections during Paris Fashion Week. The following year Abloh was announced as a finalist for the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, and Off-White gained attention when Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj wore pieces from the label in the latter’s video for the song “Feeling Myself.”
Off-White continued to gain recognition, becoming known for its tongue-in-cheek humour and use of quotation marks. Knee-high boots for the women’s fall 2017 line, for example, were embellished along the calf with the words “for walking,” a phrase playfully recalling Nancy Sinatra’s 1966 hit “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Abloh opened Off-White’s first flagship store in Hong Kong in 2015 and introduced the label’s first furniture collection, Grey Area, the following year. He also frequently collaborated with brands such as Levi’s, IKEA, RIMOWA luggage, Timberland, and Jimmy Choo. His best-known partnership, however, was with Nike, on “the ten,” a collection of refreshed designs of a few of the brand’s most iconic styles. The first shoe to drop was the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG in 2017.
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In 2018 Abloh was named artistic director of Louis Vuitton (LV) menswear, becoming the first person of colour to hold the position. He debuted his first collection that summer during Paris Fashion Week. It featured Wizard of Oz themes and reimagined Louis Vuitton signature bags in translucent plastic or matte leather with ceramic chains. The line also included accessories, for which the French brand is especially known, transformed into garments, so that pouches and purses were attached to vests and oversized shirts. The show brought a standing ovation from the audience and an emotional embrace between West, who was in attendance, and Abloh.
The harness as an accessory became a surprisingly popular piece from Abloh’s first LV collection. Actors Chadwick Boseman, Timothée Chalamet, and Michael B. Jordan were all seen sporting the accoutrement on the red carpet throughout 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Abloh continued designing for Off-White, and in 2019 he also opened an exhibition of his work, “Figures of Speech,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Later that year, however, Abloh announced that he was taking a few months off due to exhaustion. During the protests after the death of George Floyd, who was killed while in the custody of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Abloh established the Postmodern Scholarship Fund (2020) to promote more diversity in fashion.
Mar 28, 2018 · Virgil Abloh died on November 28, 2021, after a private battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. He was 41. The Off-White founder and Men’s Artistic Director of Louis...
Abloh showed his first collection for Louis Vuitton at the 2018 Men's Fashion Week at the Palais-Royal gardens in Paris. Rihanna was the first well known person to wear Abloh prior to this watershed show. Playboi Carti, Steve Lacy, A$AP Nast, Dev Hynes, and Kid Cudi walked the runway for Abloh's debut Vuitton show.
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- September 30, 1980, Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
- 2009–2021
Mar 28, 2018 · 2018: Virgil is appointed artistic director at Louis Vuitton Menswear. Finally, Virgil Abloh has ascended to the one of fashion's highest positions, as artistic director of menswear at the world's ...
- CEO & Publisher
Nov 28, 2021 · Virgil Abloh, the founder of fashion brand Off-White and the first African American to serve as artistic director for Louis Vuitton, has died at age 41 after a long battle with a cancer. Abloh had been battling cardiac angiosarcoma "privately" since 2019 before succumbing to the disease, according to a statement from Abloh's verified Instagram ...
Nov 29, 2021 · November 28, 20214:50 PM PSTUpdated 2 years ago. PARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Virgil Abloh, the American-born son of Ghanaian immigrants who became fashion's highest profile Black designer and the...
