Virgil Abloh (/ˈæbloʊ/; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur.

He was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021. Abloh was also the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013.

A trained architect, Abloh, who also worked in Chicago street fashion, entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. Abloh assumed the role of Creative Director at Donda, West's creative agency in 2010. In 2013, Abloh founded Off-White. The first African-American to be artistic director at a French luxury fashion house when he joined LVMH in 2018, Abloh was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world that year. Abloh's design aesthetic which bridged streetwear and luxury clothing was described as transformative by The New York Times. According to The Wall Street Journal, he reached a level of global fame unusual for a designer, and as an inspirational figure, according to the BBC.

Early life and education

Virgil Abloh was born on September 30, 1980, in Rockford, Illinois, to Ghanaian immigrant parents. His mother was a seamstress and his father managed a paint company. From his mother, he learned how to sew. Abloh was raised in Rockford, where he attended Boylan Catholic High School, graduating in 1998. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. He received his Master of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 2006. When Abloh was attending IIT, there was a building on campus under construction designed by the architect Rem Koolhaas (who had also worked on runway collections for Prada). Koolhaas's building helped spark his interest in fashion. Abloh was further inspired by Crown Hall, a modernist masterpiece designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Abloh's master's thesis project involved a design for a Chicago skyscraper, which curved in the direction of Lake Michigan, as if leaning toward the rising sun. While studying architecture, he also designed T-shirts and wrote on fashion and design for a well-known blog, The Brilliance. Abloh first met popular musician Kanye West while working on his designs at a Chicago print shop.

Abloh's interest in music led him to DJing beginning in his teens. He DJ'd at house parties throughout high school and college. His influences included DJ's A-Trak, Benji B, and Gilles Peterson. Over the years, Abloh gained recognition as a DJ and started playing shows internationally. He played at Hi Ibiza and was also booked for the 2019 edition of the Tomorrowland festival. Abloh released his first single "Orvnge" with German DJ/producer Boys Noize in January 2018. In June 2019, Abloh was named to a DJ residency at Wynn Las Vegas's XS Nightclub, with Wynn also agreeing to open an Off-White store.

In May 2019 Pioneer, maker of DJ consoles, announced its collaboration with Abloh in design of its transparent CDJ-2000NXS2 and DJM-900NXS2 models. The consoles were displayed at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art in the Figures of Speech Exhibition 

In June 2020, Abloh designed the original cover for Pop Smoke album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. The original cover came under heavy criticism from fans. On July 2, a new cover, designed by Ryder Ripps, was revealed along with the album's release. Abloh also worked on album art for artists Lil Uzi Vert, Kid Cudi, and Westside Gunn.

In 2021, he launched a new monthly two-hour internet radio show on Worldwide FM, "Imaginary Radio" c/o Virgil Abloh. The show featured DJ sets and interviews with musicians and other creatives; early guests included artists like electronic artist Omar-S and Alex Sowinski of BadBadNotGood. He previously had a show on Apple Music 1 called "TELEVISED RADIO". Five episodes were released between 2018 and 2020.

Publicity

Controversies

Abloh noted that one of his principles is that a new design can be created by changing an original by only three percent. He described his approach as being "ironic detachment" and that Duchamp's precedent "gives him the grounds to copy and paste, to take and to re-apply." This philosophy caused Abloh to be accused of plagiarism and appropriation.

The originality of Off-White's logo design with its alternating parallel diagonal lines has been contested by a number of parties, including Ben Kelly, who popularized this graphic in the early 1980s. Fashion blog Diet Prada has compared several of Abloh's designs, from chairs to apparel, with existing designs.

Abloh's FW 2019 collection was based on his "ultimate muse," Michael Jackson. The launch occurred one week prior to the release of Leaving Neverland at the Sundance Film Festival.[75] In response, Louis Vuitton announced they would not produce any items that directly featured Michael Jackson elements. Abloh also received criticism in early 2019 when images of his Off-White team suggested a lack of cultural diversity at his head office.

In 2019, LVMH recorded a 20% growth in sales that were in part attributed to his appointment. However, in December 2019 Abloh predicted that streetwear would die in 2020 as people moved to vintage clothing. On the March 2020 launch of his collaboration with Japanese streetwear designer Nigo, Abloh retracted his earlier comments clarifying that he was only riffing, describing himself as a novice.

During the George Floyd protests in mid-2020, Abloh attracted criticism after posting on social media a screenshot showing that he had made a $50 donation to Miami-based art collective (F)empower to go towards protesters' legal costs, adding that he was "crazy inspired". He later said on Instagram that "I can understand your frustration if you think my contributions were limited to $50... [that is] purely false when it comes to the total. I have donated $20,500 to bail funds and other causes related to this movement", and continued, "I will continue to donate more and will continue to use my voice to urge my peers to do the same". Abloh also subsequently stated that the looting of businesses during the George Floyd protests was an example of why streetwear "is dead".

Philanthropy

In 2020, he established the Virgil Abloh "Post-Modern" Scholarship Fund. Abloh raised $1 million for the scholarships which will be managed by the Fashion Scholarship Fund to assist Black students. In July 2020, Abloh's brand Off-White launched a fundraising program called "I Support Young Black Businesses" that sold Hoodies and T-Shirts with “I Support Young Black Businesses” written on them. All of those proceeds went to an organization called Chicago CRED, aimed to diminish gun violence. Also that year, with Nike he finished the redesign and renovations of the Boys and Girls Club facility in East Garfield Park, Chicago.  Abloh spent significant amounts of his time to mentor and provide mentoring resources to young designers.

Awards and honors

Abloh received his first major award in 2011 when his work designing the cover art for American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative album Watch the Throne was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. In 2015, Abloh (for Off-White) was one of the finalists for the LVMH Prize. Abloh was the only American designer to be nominated for the award that year. Abloh's Charlie Hebdo-inspired "War is Not Over!" tees as well as his toppers from his fall 2015 women's collection gained him the most traction. He received the Urban Luxe award at the 2017 British Fashion Awards. He also won International designer of the Year at the GQ men of the year awards in 2017. Abloh's Off-White Air Jordan "the Ten" collaboration won 2017's Shoe of the Year and he received the nod for Accessory Designer of the Year. Abloh was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2018, one of two designers named that year. In the Time issue, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami wrote that Abloh's impressive achievements led to his listing. In December 2018, Abloh was honored as a leading innovator by Ebony Power 100. Abloh was also nominated for 2019 Menswear Designer of the Year.

Personal life and death

Abloh lived in Chicago with his wife, Shannon, and their two children.

In 2019, Abloh was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma, a type of cancer, though he kept the diagnosis private. He died on November 28, 2021, at the age of 41, in Chicago. LVMH with the family's permission paid tribute to Abloh at their planned November 30 spin-out fashion show in Miami, with a theme of, "Virgil was here". Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, Bella Hadid, Pharrell Williams, Tahar Rahim, Venus Williams, Joe Jonas, Ricky Martin, Jeremy Pope, 21 Savage, Joan Smalls, and Bernard Arnault attended the tribute. Louis Vuitton dedicated its window-displays worldwide, also using the dedication, "Virgil was here".

Abloh's private funeral took place on December 6, 2021 in Chicago, with Drake, Rihanna, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kid Cudi, Tyler, the Creator, ASAP Rocky, Frank Ocean, Vic Mensa, Lauryn Hill, Don C, and Jerry Lorenzo in attendance amongst his family and other close friends.