After a long battle with rare cancer, Virgil Abloh, founder of Off-White Fashion Label and Artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’swear, passed away Sunday. The French fashion house confirmed his passing at 41.
Abloh suffered from cardiac angiosarcoma for at least two decades, a rare, aggressive form of cancer.
“We are all shocked after this terrible news,”Bernard Arnault, chief executive officer of the company, said in a statementFollow us on Twitter. “Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother, or their friend.”
In 2018, Abloh was appointed LVMH menswear brand creative director. This is the first black designer to hold that position.
His wife Shannon and their two children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh are his survivors, as well his sister and parents.