VIRGIL ABLOH’S LEGACY

BY: Andy Shoulders

Ever since birth, Virgil Abloh had fashion running through his veins.

His mother was a seamstress, and Abloh would frequently watch and assist her in making and repairing different garments. However, he did not go the typical fashion route as far as schooling goes. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in civil engineering, and he went on to earn his Master of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. His interest in fashion was reignited after a building at IIT was being redesigned under famed architect Rem Koolhaas. He began designing T-shirts during this time and contributed to the well-known fashion blog The Brilliance. Things simply took off from there.

After graduating, Abloh interned at Fendi in 2009 along with rapper Kanye West, and the two inevitably began collaborating together. They eventually caught the eye of Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke, which would prove quite fruitful for Abloh down the road. West and Abloh eventually launched a retail store in Chicago called RSVP Gallery, which carried a mixture of both of their aesthetics, and also showcased Abloh’s architectural education in the store’s interior. West eventually appointed Abloh Creative Director of his creative agency DONDA, which then led to Abloh serving as artistic director for West and Jay-Z’s 2011 album Watch the Throne. The following year, Abloh launched his first company, Pyrex Vision, with a goal of representing the importance of youth culture. He did this by purchasing a bunch of “deadstock” (i.e. unsold garments from previous collections) clothes from Ralph Lauren, screen-printed his own designs on them, and then re-sold them for upwards of $550. It was here that Abloh formulated his “three percent approach” – his idea that one can create a new design by changing the original by three percent. This can be seen throughout his career designs, from his Off-White (his first fashion house founded in 2013) cowboy boots with “FOR WALKING” emblazoned on the calf, to his receipt-printed rugs for his collaboration with IKEA.

On March 25, 2018, Abloh got perhaps the biggest break in his career when he was named Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line (remember him catching the eye of Michael Burke?), making him the first person of African descent to have the role (and one of the only black designers at the helm of a major fashion house). Needless to say, Abloh’s designs quickly became some of the most in-demand and difficult to get. He has invoked huge pop culture-changing names in his work, from Basquiat to Michael Jordan to Michael Jackson (his first show was titled “We Are The World” in honor of the artist’s 1985 charity single). His collaboration with Nike led to him creating a special outfit worn by Serena Williams throughout 2018’s US Open. In 2019, Abloh reached new heights when he was appointed to the board of directors of The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

While you’re here, check out images of Abloh’s truly awe-inspiring Spring/Summer 2022 collection, in which he mashes up different subcultures (sports fanatics, gender-benders, you name it, it’s probably here) and brings them into a land of true costumery. True to Abloh form, he made the fantastical collection for whichever version of you that you want to be.