Louis Vuitton star designer Virgil Abloh dies after private fight against cancer Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) – Virgil Abloh, a top black fashion designer and creative creator of Louis Vuitton men’s clothing collections, died Sunday of cancer, Vuitton owner LVMH said.

The French luxury goods giant said 41-year-old Abloh has been in the private battle against cancer for years.

“Virgil was not only a genius designer, an auditor, a beautiful soul and a man of great wisdom,” Bernard Arnault, a millionaire LVMH leader, said in a statement.

Abloh, a U.S. citizen who also worked as a DJ and visual artist, was the male artistic director of Vuitton since March 2018, the world’s largest luxury brand.

She marked the marriage between street clothes and high fashion that came to LVMH, mixing sneakers and camouflage pants with tailor-made suits and evening dresses. His influences were graffiti art, hip hop and skateboard culture.

The group adopted the style because it wanted to give new life to some labels and attract younger customers.

In July this year, LVMH expanded its mission and commissioned it to launch new brands and collaborate with those in a variety of high-fashion sectors.

LVMH also bought a 60% stake in Abloh’s Off-White label and folded it into a conglomerate of spirit jewelry.

“For more than two years, Virgil bravely fought a strange and aggressive form of cancer, heart angiosarcoma,” he said in a post on his Instagram. “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.”

Abloh used messages of inclusivity and gender fluidity to spread the popularity of the Louis Vuitton label, with issues of racial identity in her fashion shows with poetry performances and art installations.

Aiming to reach Asian consumers based on the Coronavirus pandemic, the designer sent collections of her colorful suits and utilitarian-flavored outfits to Shanghai last summer, when many labels canceled fashion shows.

“Virgil Abloh was the essence of modern creativity,” said Alexandre Arnault, one of Bernard Arnault’s sons and one of the vice presidents of U.S. jewelry and communications products Tiffany bought by LVMH this year, in an Instagram post.