Virgil Abloh has passed away

The designer lost his battle with cancer

Virgil Abloh, the men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton and founder of label Off-White has died from cancer.

LVMH, the French holding company that owns LV, said: ‘We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary; he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother, or their friend.’

Abloh (September 30, 1980) was born in Illinois and began training as an architect at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) before transitioning into fashion following a fortuitous meeting with rapper Kanye West. While collaborating with West, Abloh also held an internship at Fendi. Eventually, Abloh founded his own high-end streetwear brand Off-White, becoming a prominent player in the Milan fashion circuit.

In 2018 Virgil Abloh was named as the new artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, thus becoming the first person of African descent to lead a line at the brand.

Virgil started DJing in his teen years, crediting names such as A-Trak, Giles Peterson, and Benji-B as influences. Eventually, Abloh would go on to collaborate with Pioneer to create special edition translucent models of the CDJ-2000NXS2 and DJM-900NXS2. The mixers will go on to be displayed at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. As a DJ, Virgil headlined shows at the likes of Hï Ibiza, Phonox, Tomorrowland, Circoloco, fabric, XS Nightclub, and more.

A  beloved figure, Virgil Abloh received thousands of send-offs from friends and collaborators. Read some of them below.