American fashion designer Virgil Abloh passed away on Sunday, November 28 at 41, after a two-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, an extremely rare cancer. Abloh was both the founder of Off White and the Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton.
Abloh was born on September 30, 1980 in Rockford, Illinois to Ghanaian immigrant parents. He graduated from Boylan Catholic High School in 1998 and went on to earn an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Abloh then attended the Illinois Institute of Technology, obtaining a master’s degree in architecture from the university in 2006. It was at around this time that Abloh befriended American rapper Kanye West, and by 2010, West selected Abloh to be the creative director of Donda, West’s creative content company.
Abloh founded Off White in 2013 in Milan, Italy. Off White produces main medium fashion that combines ideas regarding art, travel, streetwear, music and luxury. Abloh defined the brand as “the gray area between black and white as the color Off-White.” The clothing company initially started as a brand intended only for men, but by 2014 Abloh launched his first womenswear collection. This expansion led to Abloh debuting both his men’s and women’s collections during Paris Fashion Week later that year.
When asked about what inspired his creation of Off White, Abloh said, “Streetwear wasn’t on anyone’s radar, but the sort of chatter at dinners after shows was like ‘Fashion needs something new. It’s stagnant. What’s the new thing going to be?’ That was the timeline on which I was crafting my ideas.”
Nancy Fried, the director of the Fieldston Fashion Show, has always appreciated Abloh’s work. When discussing his creative ideas she jokingly said, “Obviously Virgil Abloh saw the Fieldston Fashion Show, as his magical designs are so creatively out of the box it is clear that he was influenced by the Fieldston Fashion Show participants who create such magnificent outfits.”
Abloh was able to easily reach consumers by effectively putting his Instagram to use. At the time of his death, Abloh had 6.5 million followers on Instagram. Abloh realized that instead of going directly to the establishment, he could go directly to the consumer and then the establishment would come to him. His strategy worked, as by 2018, Louis Vuitton had noticed Abloh’s widespread influence and subsequently made the decision to appoint him as their Men’s Artistic Director.
Abloh privately battled cancer since his diagnosis in 2019, enduring various difficult treatments that his family and friends say took a great toll on him. Abloh is survived by his wife Shannon Abloh and two children Grey Abloh and Lowe Abloh. Abloh and Shannon were high school sweethearts in the 90s and continued to date until they tied the knot in 2009. Abloh also left behind his younger sister Edwina Abloh, mother Eunice Abloh and father Nee Abloh.
Abloh will be remembered as a groundbreaking Black designer who changed what was possible in fashion by bridging the gap between the hypebeast and luxury worlds. Abloh swiftly ascended to the top of the luxury design industry by transforming the consumer demand, image of an ideal fashion designer and the very meaning of fashion itself. Being the inspirational fashion theorist that he was, Abloh was often compared to American artist and producer Andy Warhol in addition to American artist Jeff Koons. After his death, Abloh is not only recognized for his contributions to Off White and the overall streetwear culture, but also for his meaningful additions to high-end Nike and Evian collections.
In the days following his passing, Abloh was commemorated by countless celebrities as well as many Fieldston students. Through social media, numerous members of the Upper School community reposted memorials and shared thoughtful wishes. At Fieldston and beyond, Abloh will forever be honored as an artistic visionary and a pioneer in his field.
