Virgil Abloh, Barrier-Breaking Designer, Is Dead at 41
November 28, 2021 3:20 PM Subscribe
Virgil Abloh, the founder of luxury streetwear brand Off-White and artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, has died from cancer at the age of 41
“Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,”
Here are just a few of the iconic album covers he has worked on over the last few years
The first time a Black designer had taken the reins of a major luxury brand.
“Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,”
Here are just a few of the iconic album covers he has worked on over the last few years
The first time a Black designer had taken the reins of a major luxury brand.
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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 3:35 PM on November 28, 2021
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 3:35 PM on November 28, 2021
There was a fine retrospective of the many facets of his work just before the pandemic: here.
posted by homerica at 4:18 PM on November 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by homerica at 4:18 PM on November 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
Tragic. Far before his time.
posted by Ahmad Khani at 4:29 PM on November 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Ahmad Khani at 4:29 PM on November 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by praemunire at 4:51 PM on November 28, 2021
posted by praemunire at 4:51 PM on November 28, 2021
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I was visiting a niece in Boston last summer and we saw his exhibition at the ICA in Boston. We were trying to imagine what he would do next, and where his exhibit would be shown when it came to NYC.
Hard to image he did all this while battling cancer and no one knew.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:10 PM on November 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I was visiting a niece in Boston last summer and we saw his exhibition at the ICA in Boston. We were trying to imagine what he would do next, and where his exhibit would be shown when it came to NYC.
Hard to image he did all this while battling cancer and no one knew.
posted by maggiemaggie at 5:10 PM on November 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by lalochezia at 5:19 PM on November 28, 2021
posted by lalochezia at 5:19 PM on November 28, 2021
Damn.
He was the reason I (a very nerdy, non-sporty, largely glamour-free Woman Of A Certain Age) started paying attention to runway fashion and streetwear again. So much of the sartorial humor, creativity, and passion that now delights me every day is on my radar because of him.
I can't believe it. This is heartbreaking.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 5:20 PM on November 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
He was the reason I (a very nerdy, non-sporty, largely glamour-free Woman Of A Certain Age) started paying attention to runway fashion and streetwear again. So much of the sartorial humor, creativity, and passion that now delights me every day is on my radar because of him.
I can't believe it. This is heartbreaking.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 5:20 PM on November 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
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posted by lasagnaboy at 5:59 PM on November 28, 2021
posted by lasagnaboy at 5:59 PM on November 28, 2021
Without exaggeration, Abloh was the key inspirational figure for countless designers. "One of the pillars of my design aesthetic is showing the process. That way a whole generation of kids will see themselves in the work, and do the work themselves, too."
posted by How the runs scored at 7:04 PM on November 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by How the runs scored at 7:04 PM on November 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
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posted by skye.dancer at 7:49 PM on November 28, 2021
posted by skye.dancer at 7:49 PM on November 28, 2021
I think maybe he was a bit like YSL, in that he was an outsider who knew both what was playing on the streets and what was happening in the high end world, and managed to mix them in a really beautiful and productive way, a louche way, a jolie laide way, a kind of fuck you i know what you are doing and i am going to do it better way. There is a dress in last year's spring Dress 12 here is smarter, and more lovely than it seems. He was so so smart.
posted by PinkMoose at 8:18 PM on November 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by PinkMoose at 8:18 PM on November 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by wicked_sassy at 6:01 AM on November 29, 2021
posted by wicked_sassy at 6:01 AM on November 29, 2021
I was just talking to my parents yesterday about having seen his exhibition in Chicago a couple of years ago pre-pandemic. They had just watched the new Candyman film, which takes place in the Chicago modern-art world and contains a scene shot near this particular installation. I didn't know a ton about Abloh before seeing the exhibit, but came away fascinated with how he'd managed to have his hands in so many different kinds of creative endeavors in such a short amount of time.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:47 AM on November 29, 2021
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:47 AM on November 29, 2021
I hadn't paid much attention to Abloh because I was so unimpressed with LVMH's clothing line and assumed he designed it. Seeing his work now makes me regret this--he was so inventive and brought so many disparate ideas together. RIP; he made the world a better place with his design work.
posted by pxe2000 at 8:48 AM on November 29, 2021
posted by pxe2000 at 8:48 AM on November 29, 2021
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posted by Lawn Beaver at 10:33 AM on November 29, 2021
posted by Lawn Beaver at 10:33 AM on November 29, 2021
40–50 more years of artistic genius we will not have the privilege to experience. A deep loss to the world.
posted by Sreiny at 12:41 PM on November 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Sreiny at 12:41 PM on November 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
One of his last designs: a collaboration with Mercedes on a Maybach.
posted by box at 3:33 PM on December 2, 2021
posted by box at 3:33 PM on December 2, 2021
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One of my friends' kids decided he wants to be a designer after getting excited about Abloh's Jordans.
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posted by box at 3:28 PM on November 28, 2021 [2 favorites]