Virgil Abloh, the artistic director for Louis Vuittonmenswear and the founder and CEO of fashion house Off-White, has died after a private battle with a “rare, aggressive form of cancer,”According to posts on social media from brands. He was 41.
Abloh, fashion pioneer and frequent collaborator with celebrities, passed away Sunday from cardiac angiosarcoma. Blocks blood flow to the heartAccording to a PostShared to his verified Instagram account Louis VuittonAnd Off-White also confirmed his death on their accounts.
“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,”Abloh’s Instagram Read.
He was a pioneer in the fashion world, serving as the first Black artistic director to lead Louis Vuitton menswear, just one of two people of color in charge of a major fashion house (along with Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing) at the time of his appointment. The same year, he was named a Time 100 Most Influential Individuals honoree.
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“Part of my equation is to inspire the next generation and to help them think outside the box,”Abloh sahInterview magazine in 2018. “When I was growing up, I didn’t know that I could be showing in Paris, because I didn’t see anyone doing that who looked like me. Even when I just walked into a luxury store, people would look at me like I didn’t belong there.”
“Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity, and optimism never wavered,”His Instagram account posted the following: “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. He often said, ‘Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,’ believing deeply in the power of art to inspire future generations.”
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Born in Illinois to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Abloh went on to get a civil engineering degree from University of Wisconsin–Madison and a masters in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, the latter of which also sparked his interest in the fashion industry. Abloh would later intern at Fendi alongside Kanye West. This sparked a long-lasting collaboration.
Abloh was the inspiration behind many of West’s most notable album covers, including 2010s. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” 2011’s “Watch the Throne”Jay-Z and 2013’s “Yeezus.” The rapper was in attendance forAbloh’s first Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week in 2019They were photographed hugging afterward in this location.
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Music was vital to Abloh’s creative process.
“I can’t work in my studio without music. I don’t like silence.”Interview. “I’m listening to John Coltrane. I’m listening to Miles Davis. But I’m also listening to whatever new rap is coming out that week. I have teams in Milan, Italy, London and America, so as long as I have a fully charged iPhone, I feel like I can change the world.”
Abloh made several recent public appearances, including at the Met Gala in September and the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize Gala on Nov. 3.
He is survived by his wife, Shannon Abloh; his children, Lowe and Grey Abloh; his sister, Edwina Abloh; his parents, Nee and Eunice Abloh, and “numerous dear friends and colleagues,”According to his Instagram account.
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