Virgil Abloh's Last Show in Paris Reminded Us All To Chase Our Dreams

Virgil Abloh

 Virgil Abloh rose to prominence as Kanye West's creative director before making history as the first African-American to lead Louis Vuitton as artistic director - mixing luxury clothing with streetwear. He was also the founder of the Off-White fashion label

Following his death last November aged just 41, Louis Vuitton's parent company LVMH described him as a "genius" and a "visionary".

On Thursday 20th January, Louis Vuitton dedicated its tear-stained catwalk show to the late Virgil Abloh's last collection.

Before his death, Virgil Abloh had already designed his autumn/winter 2022 collection for Louis Vuitton.

His posthumous final menswear show was set in an elaborate " Louis Dreamhouse" concept with angels, breakdancing models and a disregard for gender in the designs.

"I don't believe in gender, I believe in design," Abloh was quoted as saying in the show notes.

Furniture sprung out of the floors, beds spun around, and the Chineke! Orchestra – a highly diverse ensemble – performed an original soundtrack by Tyler, the Creator around a banqueting table. 

The “Louis Dreamhouse” encompassed a lot of the themes and messages at the heart of his eight-collection arc for Louis Vuitton. Childlike and surreal, it was about imagination: having and encouraging the imagination to become someone great, do remarkable things, and make the world a better place. Virgil believed we should see the world through the unfazed eyes of a child to whom anything seems possible.

The fashion show concept is said to have been inspired by the traditional coming-of-age narrative, a concept close to Abloh’s heart as the ultimate supporter of emerging talent.

Abloh often said that everything he did was for his 17-year-old self. An age at which a person straddles boyhood and adulthood, where naivety and curiosity have not yet been dampened by real life woes, and where one can still feel the future at their fingertips. 

On the runway, that translates to clothing which transcends genre, mixing tailoring with sportswear, and streetwear with bridalwear.

There were cape-like tracksuits, fuzzy bags, billowing scarf shirts, svelte, sequined suits, and varsity jackets plastered in cartoonish motifs. Velour tracksuits were transformed into techy jackets, as male models became brides in veiled snapbacks and billowing tulle skirts.

Virgil also imbued the collection with hints to what was going through his mind before he lost his battle to a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. Sportswear and strong silhouettes nodded at the Olympics: superhumans, who try to surpass physical possibilities. Graphics on garments included imagery of supernatural and spiritual forces – time, magic, creation – but drawn like cartoons. There were wizards, animals, cherubs, clouds, climbing holds on sky-blue bags, and animations of the Grim Reaper. At the end, two models emerged as arch angels with massive wings on their backs structured like kites. The grim reaper loomed in the background however, as badges with his image were tacked onto garments and models stalked the area in menacing plague masks. The juxtaposition of hope and loss was all too obvious. 

The tribute closed with a particularly moving voice-note from the man himself and played atop sombre strings: ​“Life is so short that you can’t even waste a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do, versus what you can do.”

Perhaps his greatest legacy was his fervent belief in fostering young talent. In an Instagram post he made after his 2018 debut show, which has been widely shared after the news of his death, Abloh is shown taking his final bow on an acid yellow runway (a reference to that magical childhood road to a fantasy land, the yellow brick road), back turned to the camera. The caption is ​“you can do it too…” 

At the end of the show as soon as the models stopped walking, fireworks erupted, followed by a d light display that spelt out ​“Virgil was here” across the dark sky.

Virgil Abloh addresses backlash over Instagram comments

 

Virgil Abloh posted a lengthy explanation for social media comments he made yesterday. The Louis Vuitton menswear collection designer, Off-White founder, and frequent Nike collaborator was called out by many on Twitter and Instagram for comments he made on fellow designer Sean Wotherspoon’s account, which showed a video of the aftermath of his looted store, Round Two.

Abloh wrote, “You see the passion, blood, sweat and tears Sean puts in for our culture. This disgusts me. To the kids that ransacked his store and RSVP DTLA, and all our stores in our scene just know, that product staring at you in your home/apartment right now is tainted and a reminder of a person I hope you aren’t. We’re a part of a culture together. Is this what you want?? When you walk past him in the future please have the dignity to not look him in the eye, hang your head in shame … .”

This contrasted many other designers, including Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors, who sent messages of solidarity with the protesters. “Property can be replaced, human lives CANNOT,” wrote Jacobs.

Abloh was also brought to task for his monetary contributions to Fempower, an art collective aiding protesters with legal expenses. “I mean every penny counts but Virgil abloh donating $50 when he makes double that from a pair of socks,” wrote one user.

“I can’t believe I donated more money than virgil abloh and I’m the one that’s unemployed,” wrote another.

Today, on his Instagram account, Abloh offered an apology for his comments and gave a list of actions he has taken to show support for protesters.

“I apologize that my comments yesterday appeared as if my main concerns are anything other than full solidarity with the movements against police violence, racism, and inequality,” he shared. “I want to update all systems that don’t address our current needs. It has been my personal MO in every realm I touch.”

Abloh also expanded on his $50 donation. “I can understand your frustration if you think my contributions were limited to $50,” he wrote. “Purely false when it comes to the total. I have donated $20,500 to bail funds and other causes related to this movement.”

Still, many on social media are not quick to forgive his actions, further calling out the lack of diversity on his design teams. “Virgil Abloh said when he applies for a job he fears he won’t get it. The artistic director of Louis Vuitton. With no black people on his teams,” wrote one Twitter user.

“I will no longer be supporting you nor your clothing,” wrote another.

Virgil Abloh draws from 1980s graffiti culture for Off-White show

Abloh' s men's S?S show

Founded in 2012, Virgil Abloh’s brand Off-White is one made for the digital age. The designer’s social media following – 7.6 million for Off-White, 4.6 million for his personal account – was arguably a factor in him becoming the creative director of menswear for Louis Vuitton last year. But, for Off-White’s spring/summer 2020 menswear show in Paris on Wednesday, Abloh’s collection looked further back, to the graffiti scene in 1980s New York. He collaborated with Futura, a contemporary of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, on a series of spray-painted prints.

If the reference was from the past, the show was designed for the photo opportunities necessary for now. The set featured a sea of white carnations planted in turf, with a Futura sculpture pride of place. Abloh is one of only a few designers of colour in fashion and his casting and front row were noticeably diverse. Celebrities including Lewis Hamilton watched a collection based on 1980s street culture, 1990s dorm rooms and plastic. The show’s finales saw male and female models, including Gigi Hadid, walk through the field of flowers, the women in ball gowns decorated with Futura prints. It was a perfectly orchestrated moment designed for social media.

As always with Abloh, there were also very wearable clothes. Off-White is a cult label on the streetwear scene – and the classics of the genre were here: bucket hats, gilets, denim jackets and bumbags. They will no doubt be snapped up by his devoted young fanbase. His quote mark branding – with items labelled “cap”, “wallet”, “boots”, etc – chimes with a generation who like to wear their meta culture on their sleeve.


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Virgil Abloh is in the Midst of BAcklash for Lack of Diversity on His Off-White Staff

Barely two months have passed since Virgil Abloh was the target of backlash for statements he made in The New Yorker about his Michael Jackson-inspired Fall 2019 menswear collection for Louis Vuitton; the runway show coincided with the wide release of "Leaving Neverland," a documentary that divulged explicit details surrounding the child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson.

Now, the CEO of Off-White is back in hot water for images and videos he shared Tuesday on his Instagram Stories of a Christmas party he threw for over 100 Off-White staffers. Instagram users were quick to point out that they didn't spot one person of color — and more specifically, one Black person — on the Milan-based team.

Users used the comments section of Abloh's most recent post to express their frustration, with one user saying, "So you clearly don't believe in diversity."

Another user called for Black people to boycott Off-White under the same post, saying, "Black people please learn not [to] support labels and businesses [that] don't support us. 136 members [at the Christmas party] and not one person of color, he clearly sees no value in the creatives that look like him."

Abloh's Off-White is now among a number of fashion houses that have been called out for their lack of diversity and cultural missteps in recent months, including Prada for its racially insensitive monkey trinkets, Gucci for its "blackface" balaclava scandal (which ultimately required that house collaborator Dapper Dan get involved) and Burberry's "noose" hoodie controversy. As a result of the customer- and fan-driven feedback they've received, all three luxury labels have established diversity initiatives to reassure consumers of their intention to change.

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Virgil Abloh unveils own brand with jewellery line

Virgil Abloh is launching a new brand under his own name with a debut collection of jewelry inspired by the humble paper clip.

The artistic director for men’s wear at Louis Vuitton and creative director of upscale streetwear brand Off-White, Abloh on Monday posted an image of a box labeled “Recycled Jumbo Paper Clips” and the brand name “Virgil Abloh,” followed by another image showing him wearing a necklace made of paper clips.

The designer told WWD that he planned to present his first eponymous jewellery collection, alongside his latest handbag and sneaker designs for Off-White, at “Floral Shop,” a pop-up store at Hôtel Costes set to run from Jan. 17 to 29 to coincide with the men’s ready-to-wear and women’s haute couture shows in Paris.

“I curated my favourite flowers, simple bouquets that can be bought, but I’m also previewing high jewellery that’s of my own name. It’s not associated to Off-White per se,” he said.

“Those will be on view for the first time. I’ve been developing those for three years,” added Abloh, who has frequently worn a paper clip necklace.

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How Virgil Abloh made Off-White the hottest fashion brand in the world

Things like “influence” and importance are watery concepts. But it’s easy to see that the Milan-based fashion brand Off-White has 5.4 million Instagram followers and that founder Virgil Abloh has 3.1 million. It’s easy to see that Rihanna wears these clothes, and that the Nike Air Prestos designed by Abloh and released this summer were mentioned more than 250,000 times on social media and were so hard to buy that they are now available on resale apps at markups of around 450 percent.

The brand was founded in 2012, and its popularity isn’t new, but it’s now reaching heights that, to the idle but curious fashion observer, may be confounding. Its guiding principle is just “everything in quotes,” as in, “everything is ironic and also the main recognizable design element on the clothes is chunky quotation marks.” A black dress with the words “Little Black Dress” written on it, in quotes. A shoelace on a $700 pair of sneakers with the word “Shoelaces” written on it, in quotes. A scarf with “scarf” written on it in quotes.

Off-White makes plenty of clothes that are what you might recognize as high fashion, but it’s better known for things like $1,000 sweatshirts; pricey, tongue-in-cheek phone cases; buzzy collaborations that help fuel the $1 billion sneaker resale industry; its signature, seemingly nonfunctional industrial-themed belts; and its … experimental furniture.

As perplexing as it was when kids lined up and paid $1,000-plus to buy a literal brick released by Supreme two years ago, at least it was clear that it was in some ways a joke. Off-White isn’t a joke. It’s extremely expensive streetwear — primarily T-shirts and hoodies and sneakers — beloved by the teenagers of Reddit, the rich club kids of New York and Milan, the pop stars and rappers in every magazine and on every social media feed, and much of the high-fashion elite, including Abloh’s day-one fan Marc Jacobs. Also, Julia Roberts.

It is not at all a challenge to find people who will say Abloh is leading a cult of personality dependent on teens who don’t know better, that his undeniable historical significance as the most prolific designer of his generation is at odds with his seeming disinterest in giving anyone a good reason to care. Often, at his most earnest, he says things like, “We’re lucky to have a public that is now prime to support brands. In essence, we’re all independent brands and retailers.”

It’s rare that the question “what’s the deal?” feels fair or interesting, but, uh, what’s the deal?

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Virgil Abloh: "I now have a platform to change the industry...so I should.'

Virgil Abloh

The mood in Virgil Abloh’s new studio in Louis Vuitton’s Paris headquarters tells you everything you need to know about the label’s new artistic director of menswear. Most ateliers, a week before a show, transform into high-stress, high-energy nerve centres where tantrums are commonplace and emotions run high. When I visit Abloh just days before his first outing for the brand, however, it’s as calm as silk in a summer breeze. The alt-jazz strains of the new Sons Of Kemet album are drifting out of the enormous black Pioneer speakers Abloh has recently installed in the space; there are fashionable young people in caps and trainers moving languidly around the rails, discussing fabric samples in hushed tones; and there are several men hunched over the decks in Abloh’s office, discussing music for the show. The only thing that resembles an established fashion environment is the very civilised staff lunch of rare roast beef, perfectly sliced pomodorini and roasted balsamic onions (no carbs to see here) being laid out by a compact man in a perfectly cut suit. But then, Abloh is nothing if not anti-establishment. A 37-year-old, self-made African-American designer with a streetwear aesthetic, a low-key vibe and 2.6 million Instagram followers, Abloh’s appointment at Louis Vuitton has shifted the dial in the world of high fashion.

The first thing I notice about Abloh when he arrives at the studio is his size. He’s broad, heavy and tall, at least 6’2”. He has none of the self-effacing slightness so often found in the gaits of big-name fashion designers and his smile is warm and unguarded. When he sees me he lumbers over amiably, before shaking my hand gently. When I ask him how he maintains the sense of calm in the room, he says, “My door is always open. There’s no hierarchy. I don’t shut the door and get people to ask permission to come in. You know, we’re a team. I just happen to have done a series of things that allow me to be at the head of it, so I take responsibility.”

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The Cult of Virgil Abloh

Virgil Abloh

Game changer” is an overused phrase, but in the case of Virgil Abloh’s appointment as Louis Vuitton’s artistic director in March 2018, it’s perhaps justified. That’s not just because he’s Vuitton’s first black design lead (one of the first at any heritage fashion house, in fact) or because he has no formal fashion training. (That didn’t stop Raf Simons.) It’s because the streetwear aesthetic, hitherto considered lowly by some, that Abloh has helped propagate through his self-started brands Pyrex Vision and Off-White, not to mention his role as creative director to a certain Kanye West, is now the highest height of fashion.

The Vuitton move has been variously hailed as a historic victory for diversity in the so-white industry or a triumph of hype over substance. (Show us a brand that is killing it without hype.) Whatever the case, Abloh is now in a uniquely powerful position to change what you wear, even if you’re not one of the fortunate few who can afford to shop at Vuitton: the colours, shapes and pieces – see the wearable bags below, for instance – will ripple outwards and trickle down. And thanks to his cultural connections, plus collaborations with everyone from Ikea to Nike, he can influence at scale – and even redefine what you consider “luxury”.

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Virgil's Vuitton debut felt like seeing fashion change

Virgil Abloh

Virgil Abloh didn’t fail. You could tell that some people wanted him to, that they were hoping his debut collection as artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear would be a bust. That wasn’t what happened, though – his first show was good. The atmosphere, as the sun beat down onto the rainbow runway, was incredible. The collection had a message which tied the house’s travel history with the present. The show had one of the best, most authentically diverse menswear castings I’ve ever seen on a runway – with maps on every seat detailing the birthplace of each model and of their parents. And, despite the predictions of the naysayers, it was not just a line of printed t-shirts – Abloh presented a refined collection of luxurious yet modern menswear.

Not that there weren’t any t-shirts – as well as those provided as mementos for each of the guests, about a thousand of them were to be found on the backs of students, most looking to be in their late teens, who stood either side of the single row runway to watch the show. Their excitement was palpable – can you imagine being invited to a Louis Vuitton show, let alone this Louis Vuitton show, as a teenager? On the t-shirts was a photocopied image of Abloh’s new business card, with handwritten words commenting on how “surreal” it is, as well as what appeared to be his actual phone number.

As we all know by now, Virgil Abloh did not take a traditional route into fashion. He did not go to CSM and work in-house at a big brand, before starting out on his own. Whatever you want to make of his relationship with Kanye, he’s a self-made phenomenon with an infamous work ethic. In an Instagram caption accompanying a picture of himself on the runway for the finale, Abloh posted five simple words, “you can do it too”, daring others to dream like he did. This is not a man who thinks fashion is for a select few – this is a man who knows what it feels like to not get into shows, to be an outsider. This is a man who, when he started showing in Paris, posted pictures of his own Off-White invitations on Instagram and encouraged members of the public to turn up. The A-Z provided on each seat with a glossary of Ablohisms began with ‘after party’, saying that it was a gathering “intended for industry guests but made great by the civilian fans of the brand in question.”

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The Virgil Abloh phenomenon - How the Off-White designer conquered the world

Virgil Abloh

In just under ten years, he has gone from Kanye West’s stylist to founder and creative director of streetwear label Off-White. More than ever at the forefront of the fashion scene, Virgil Abloh continues to take on creative roles and exclusive collaborations, the latest being as costume designer for New York City Ballet’s next ballet. Five things to know about the man behind one of the most influential streetwear brands of the moment.
Who is Virgil Abloh?

A Chicago native born to Ghanaian parents, Virgil Abloh studied as a civil engineer at the University of Wisconsin, followed by a masters in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Long-term creative advisor to rapper Kanye West, he launched his label, Off-White, in September 2013, which led to him becoming one of the finalists for the prestigious LVMH prize in 2015, which eventually went to the duo Marques’Almeida and the French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus.

His beginnings

In 2002, at only 22 years old, Virgil Abloh became Kanye West’s right-hand man, with his roles extending from merchandising to album artwork to set design. In 2009, Virgil Abloh interned at the fashion house Fendi in Rome, and soon decided to launch a concept store in his native Chicago alongside Don C, co-manager of Kanye West. Named RSVP Gallery, this concept store with green neon lights offered an exclusive selection of the hottest street designers and vintage couture pieces, and soon became a landmark for those in the know in Chicago. Virgil Abloh launched his first label, Pyrex Vision, in 2012, which saw Champion t-shirts and Ralph Lauren shirts printed with the Pyrex 23 logo. The brand soon gained popularity, inviting a creative crowd from Kanye West to A$AP Rocky to design exclusive capsule collections. From its beginnings, Pyrex was sold alongside the big fashion houses, in the most influential concept stores, including Colette in Paris, Union in Los Angeles, GR8 in Tokyo and Storm in Copenhagen.

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