Fashion designer Virgil Abloh ‘Audience’ has died at the age of 41 Fashion Industry News

Chief fashion designer Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collection, died on Sunday at the age of 41 from cancer, the French owner of the fashion and luxury house LVMH reported.

Abloh, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, who became a top black fashion designer, also worked as a DJ and visual artist and has been at Vuitton since March 2018. He also created the Off-White Italian luxury street clothing label. LVMH took a 60 percent stake earlier this year and was a former collaborator with rapper and fashion designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

“We are all impressed by this tremendous news,” LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said in a statement.

“Virgil was not only a genius of design, an auditor, a beautiful soul and a man of great wisdom.”

Born in 1980 near Chicago, Abloh and his sister grew up in Rockford, Illinois. According to a 2018 Vogue magazine profile, her mother, tailor Eunice Abloh, taught her the basics of the craft at a young age.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he earned a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Abloh and Ye became interns at Fendi in Rome, and by 2010, he was working as creative director for Abloh Ye’s creative agency, Donda. He also designed the covers for Ye’s Yeezus and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy albums.

Arriving at LVMH in 2018, influenced by the culture of graffiti, hip hop and skateboarding, it marked a marriage between street clothing and high fashion.

The designer addressed environmental and social issues in his work with Louis Vuitton in a January show in Paris with messages against racism and homophobia.

Abloh said it intended to use its partnership with LVMH earlier this year to “expand the opportunities of many people and promote greater equity and inclusion in the industries we serve.”

Tributes to Abloh came from both the fashion world and the outside world.

“You left us too early Virgil,” said Nine Garcia, former editor of Elle magazine. “They created a creative universe that challenged old misconceptions about your creativity, your infinite curiosity, your love of design, your perfect work ethic, and your tremendous generosity about how fashion should establish a dialogue with other disciplines. Your understanding of fashion is a bridge it did, it attracted a new audience that respected your designs. “

Veteran designer Donatella Versace said Abloh was “lost in words” when he died.

“The world has lost a fashion superstar,” she said. “An innovator. Creator of history books. I am thinking of all your loved ones on this tragic day. Maite, Donatella ”.

Abloh had a close follower beyond the fashion industry and was the name of the celebrity in itself.

British actor Idris Elba wrote on Twitter: “Too early Virgil. We will miss you from this man of the world. ‘ British actor Riz Ahmed added that Abloh had “extended the culture” and “changed the game” by helping to “re-represent everything possible”.

French actor Omar Sy, famous for his role in the Netflix series Lupine, just wrote on Twitter: “Rest Virgil in power.”

Abloh is survived by his wife, Shannon, his children, Lowe and Gray, his sister, Edwina, and his parents, Nee and Eunice.

“For more than two years, Virgil bravely fought a strange and aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma,” he said in a post on his Instagram account announcing his death. “Since she was diagnosed in 2019, she chose to endure her private struggle, facing many treatment challenges, while leading several significant organizations including fashion, art and culture.”