On the morning of Sunday, November 28, 2021, the world learned about the death of Virgil Abloh and instantly started to mourn. It was revealed through his Instagram account that he had been battling a “rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma” for over two years and that he kept it private from the public.
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Immediately in the wake of the news, an outpouring of support from friends, collaborators, fans and basically anyone that has been touched by him over the years started filling up social media. And that’s a lot of people.
IN LOVING MEMORY
Artist FUTURA2000 started to share all the love and support for Virgil and his family/friends from the community through his FUTURA LABORATORIES Instagram Stories with “INLOVINGMEMORY OF MR. VIRGIL ABLOH.” Everyone had a positive story to share about either an interaction with Virgil, a story about him or how a product he created changed their lives. He is absolutely beloved by his peers.
LVMH, Off-White, Nike, Jordan Brand and many other brands and friends immediately started sharing tributes and messages of love and support for his family, friends and anyone grieving. Kanye changed the entire DONDA website to say “IN LOVING MEMORY OF / VIRGIL ABLOH / THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF DONDA.”
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VIRGIL ABLOH
Part of Kanye’s famous 2009 Paris Fashion Week crew, Virgil went on to break through so many barriers and aim for the stars, achieving dreams he always thought he could accomplish. He not only rose to the top in fashion and design, he also broke into the art world and was a humble DJ – I was fortunate enough to catch him on the decks spinning on more than one occasion in New York.
His Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech exhibit traveled through cities with huge crowds in tow, from Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art to Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art as recently as September of this year.
Not only will the world remember Virgil for his success and innovations in recent years as the Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line and for making history as the first African American to lead a menswear line at LVMH, he also has a global fanbase that transcends language barriers because of Off-White, a brand he founded in 2013. Everyone knows about the ” ” marks.
Lest we forget his numerous Nike collaborations that have changed the sneaker game, involvement as the Creative Director of Ye’s DONDA label, and his first-ever label, Pyrex Vision, which OG streetwear fans remember he founded and ran for a year in 2012.
As successful as he was, Virgil found the time to also give back. His “POSTMODERN” initiative scholarship fund launched last year and raised over $1 million USD to help Black students get an education, especially those looking to break into the fashion/design industry.
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Virgil was a rare individual that understood youth culture better than most and he was passionate in every piece he put out — always giving insight and an explanation into the thought, design and execution processes. His loss will be felt for the coming days, weeks and even years. His legacy will live on with all of us forever. Legends never really die.
Virgil truly changed the game.
Thank you for everything you gave to the community.
Rest in peace and power Virgil Abloh.
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Photo via Pascal Le Segretain
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