Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collections, is dead

Published on : 11/28/2021 – 9:32 PM

The first great black designer, king of luxury streetwear, he had landed one of the most envied positions in fashion. The American Virgil Abloh, stylist and artistic director of the Louis Vuitton men’s collections, died Sunday, November 28 of cancer at the age of 41, announced the LVMH group, Vuitton’s parent company.

“The LVMH group, the Maison Louis Vuitton and Off-White have the immense sorrow to announce the disappearance of Virgil Abloh, struck down this Sunday November 28 by a cancer which he fought for several years”, declared LVMH on his account Twitter.

Bernard Arnault, the president of the group, said he was “in shock”, saluting “a designer of genius, a visionary”, but also “a beautiful soul and a man of great wisdom”.

Virgil Abloh’s illness, which he had been fighting for two years, had not been made public.

“He has chosen to endure his fight in private since being diagnosed in 2019” with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare malignant tumor located in the heart, his family explained in a post on the designer’s Instagram account.

King of luxury streetwear

Committed to the affirmation of Afro-American cultures, the stylist had landed in 2018 one of the most envied positions in fashion, in the flagship label of LVMH.

Born September 30, 1980 in the United States, Virgil Abloh graduated in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison and in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

King of luxury streetwear, he had established himself in a few years as one of the coolest designers among an audience of connected millennials.

His trademark ? A style reflecting the “street” culture, with its sneakers and sweatshirts, but also an easily recognizable logo, made of oblique black and white bands, successful collaborations with Nike, Jimmy Choo, or even Moncler.

Virgil Abloh created his first label in 2012, Pyrex Vision. A year later, Off-White was born, a luxury streetwear brand, which imposed itself by the strength of its graphics before evolving towards more “couture” creations. In 2015, the brand was one of the finalists for the prestigious LVMH prize.

LVMH signed an agreement in July with Virgil Abloh to become the majority shareholder of its Off-White brand.

Against racism

His January 2021 collection for Louis Vuitton, unveiled as part of Virtual Fashion Week in Paris, had been in the form of an anti-racist and anti-homophobic performance led by American rappers.

Virgil Abloh had questioned how stereotypes and uniforms related to professions and lifestyles shape personality, striving to change these preconceptions.

Abloh had said he wanted to use his partnership with LVMH to “foster greater equity and inclusion in the industries we serve.”

With AFP