Virgil Abloh, the acclaimed menswear designer for Louis Vuitton and founder and CEO of Off-White, died Sunday of cancer.
This was made public according to a post from his verified Instagram account. He was 41.
“We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father,
husband, son, brother, and friend. He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues,” the post read.
“For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.
Abloh was a true multi-hyphenate — first, and foremost a fashion designer, who before making history as Louis Vuitton’s first Black artistic director, founded the cultish streetwear label Off-White.
At Louis Vuitton, he brought in a younger demographic, with menswear collections that blurred the lines between high
fashion and streetwear, as well as pushed artistic boundaries and challenged gender norms.
A sparkly “embroidered bib” he designed, for example, became an instant talking point when it was worn by Timothee Chalamet to the Golden Globes in 2019. Other versions were donned by Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman.
Tributes poured in overnight for the late designer, who was one of fashion’s most powerful Black men, in an industry that notoriously lacks diversity.
Virgil Abloh, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, was born in 1980 in Rockford, Illinois. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a master’s degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology; a foundation that would later influence his broader practice.
Virgil Abloh was named among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2018, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presented an exhibition of the work of “genre-bending artist and designer” in 2019.
Before his untimely death, Virgil Abloh was working on plans for a fashion show in Miami, Florida, to coincide with the opening of a new Louis Vuitton men’s store in the city.