Virgil Abloh
One of the most influential and respected fashion designers of his generation, he began his own line of luxury streetwear clothing, Pyrex Vision, in 2012, and became the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013. Abloh was also 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.[1]
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,[2] Abloh was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world that year.[3] Abloh's design aesthetic which bridged streetwear and luxury clothing was described as transformative by The New York Times.[4] According to The Wall Street Journal, he reached a level of global fame unusual for a designer,[5] and as an inspirational figure, according to the BBC.[6]
References
Friedman, Vanessa (July 20, 2021). "Virgil Abloh Gets a Seat at the Power Table". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
Hyman, Dan (May 23, 2019). "Virgil Abloh Has Designs on High Culture". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
Grobe, Max (March 28, 2018). "How Virgil Abloh Went From DJing to the World's Biggest Luxury House: a Timeline". Highsnobiety. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
Friedman, Vanessa (November 28, 2021). "Virgil Abloh, Bold Designer of Men's Wear, Dies at 41". The New York Times. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
Gallagher, Jacob (November 29, 2021). "Virgil Abloh Left an Outsize Impact on Global Fashion and Culture". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
"Virgil Abloh: How he 'helped black people dream in fashion'". BBC News. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
