Virgil Abloh passes away after battle with cancer at 41

Remembering the admirable fashion designer and his legacy

SPENCER BISPHAM / CONTRIBUTOR / THE USD VISTA

On Sunday, Nov. 28, Virgil Abloh’s seven million Instagram followers opened their phones to a heartbreaking post from his account. 

The 41-year-old designer lost a two-year-long private battle with cardiac angiosarcoma — a particularly aggressive form of heart cancer. While he endured treatment behind closed doors, Abloh was responsible for overseeing footwear collaborations with his personal brand, Off-White, curating art exhibitions, and creative directing for Louis Vuitton (LV) menswear. 

Bernard Arnault, LV’s CEO, released a statement via Instagram about the designer on the day after his passing. 

“Virgil was not only a genius designer and a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom,” Arnault said. “The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow and we are all thinking of his loved ones on the passing of their husband, father, brother, son, and friend.”

In addition to his time at Louis Vuitton, Abloh’s resume of professional accomplishments extends far beyond the traditional scope. 

He is best known for his brand, Off-White, which is popular for its contrasting, loud, and deconstructed design language. 

Within this brand, Virgil also produced products in collaboration with companies like Levi’s, IKEA, and Evian Natural Spring Water. 

The range of these collaborations touched USD senior, Enoch Waiswa, who is interested in pursuing a career in fashion design himself.

“The way Virgil let people in on his process was special and exciting to those who were fans of his,” Waiswa said. “His versatility across different mediums was inspiring to see and be a part of.”

The most famous of his collaborations, however, is undoubtedly his work at Nike. Since their initial project titled “The Ten” back in 2017, Abloh and the sportswear giant released at least one shoe design per year, most of which have a resale value of more than double the original price. 

Prior to “The Ten,” sneakers weren’t on the radar of big fashion houses. 

However, because the shoes were an instant hit, people of all backgrounds became hungry for more of his designs. The Air Jordan 1 silhouette became a token favorite among celebrities, worn by Beyoncé, Serena Williams, Kendall Jenner, and Frank Ocean.

During the process of unveiling another special-edition Nike Air Force 1 collaboration, Abloh curated the “FIGURES OF SPEECH” exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in late 2019. 

As museum-goers walked through, they were able to see the massive collection of his past, present, and then-unreleased sneaker designs. Not only were these groundbreaking products, but they were presented to the world in a format that had not yet been seen. 

In fact, the MCA exhibit represents one of Abloh’s most important contributions to pop culture: the barriers he broke for those after him. Many young, BIPOC fashion creatives are looked over or their designs are outright stolen (ex: Dapper Dan) by luxury brands. 

Virgil Abloh was one of the only black designers whose work received consistent and positive attention on such a wide scale. His work at Louis Vuitton, Off-White, and a myriad of other brands allowed other BIPOC designers to feel seen and appreciated  in the fashion world. He was known for his work ethic and design quality, as well. 

In an article for the Wall Street Journal, reporter Jacob Gallagher gave a summary of the impact that Abloh had.

“The fashion world has looked down on certain garments. They’ve looked down on hoodies, they’ve looked down on t-shirts, they’ve looked down on sportswear, things that traditionally, if we’re being honest, were cornerstones of Black style,” Gallagher said. “And Virgil was not the first designer to do this, but he was probably the most notable designer in the past few years to take those staples seriously and to treat them as things that could be made at a very high level, that could have price tags that are more than some people’s rent, that belonged on the runway.”

Virgil Abloh brought sneakers to the feet of everyone, from the suburbs to the cities, and this is why his legacy will remain untouchable for years to come. 

Abloh built an empire based around his collaborations, and created the hybrid of luxury-street-style fashion. The world will never again experience a designer like this.