Born in 1980 in Illinois, Virgil Abloh was the son of Ghanaian immigrants and he learned to sew from his mother. Upon graduation from the Illinois Institute of Technology, he quickly developed an interest in fashion. In 2009, he interned alongside Kanye West and they teamed up to launch a boutique named RSVP in Chicago. Then, in 2015, Abloh’s Off-White Brand was nominated for the prestigious LVMH prize. Virgil secured his place in fashion history in 2018 when he was named the Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton.
He was the first person of African descent to be named to the position in the company’s history, and that same year, Off-White, his brand, was named the hottest label in the world. He was also named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of the year. Under Abloh’s tutelage at the LVMH fashion house, he made a mark by releasing some of the most iconic streetwear designs. Throughout his lifetime, Abloh was involved in many philanthropic causes and in 2020, he established the Virgil Abloh "Post-Modern" Scholarship Funds to assist up-and-coming Black fashion industry leaders.
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Image: Azure-Virgil-Abloh-Vitra-9_Image by Joshua Osborne for Azure Magazine 2019.
Text: Giacomazzo, B (2021) ‘A Look At The Life, Career And Accomplishments Of Virgil Abloh’ 29 November. Available at: https://afrotech.com/virgil-abloh
Gilang, R (2021) ‘RIP Virgil Abloh: The Biggest Career Achievements Of The Late Fashion Designer’ 13 December. Available at: https://www.thethings.com/rip-virgil-abloh-biggest-career-achievements-late-fashion-designer/
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