Famous American fashion designer Virgil Abloh passed away on Sunday, 28th November because of cancer. He was 41. Virgil Abloh was the founder and CEO of Off-White label and also the artistic director for Louis Vuitton menswear.
LVMH, the parent company of luxury goods maker Louis Vuitton, announced on social media platform Twitter about Abloh’s death in a tweet through its official handle on 28th Nov.
Star Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh dies after a private battle with cancer for over two years
Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH 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.”
LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years. pic.twitter.com/CytwZLvSFu
— LVMH (@LVMH) November 28, 2021
According to a post shared on Virgil Abloh’s Instagram account, he was diagnosed with an aggressive rare variant of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma, a couple of years back in 2019.
The Instagram 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 famous name in the world of fashion before he joined Louis Vuitton. He joined a small team of Black designers who are at a senior level position in the French luxury house when he became the artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton.
In 2012, he founded the luxury streetwear label Off-White that received a good response both from celebrities and teenagers alike.
Famous personalities like Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z were seen wearing his private label pieces. Abloh was in collaboration with multinational companies like Nike, Jimmy Choo, Champion, etc.
Gucci, an Italian luxury fashion house and competitor of LVMH hailed Abloh as an “immense inspiration to us all both as a designer and as a person. He will be deeply missed though his vision will live on through the trails that he blazed throughout his career.”
Abloh not only collaborated with the famous rapper, Kanye West, for designing his merchandise and album cover art but also served as a creative director for West.
Grammy-Winning Vocalist Tony Williams paid his tributes to the late designer on Twitter by writing, “We set out on a mission to redesign the status quo.. how the world looked… how it felt… how it sounded, sonically and melodically.. and to introduce the rhythm and beat that we would march into this age to.. REST IN PRACE Brother..”
We set out on a mission to redesign the status quo.. how the world looked… how it felt… how it sounded, sonically and melodically.. and to introduce the rhythm and beat that we would march into this age to.. REST IN PRACE Brother.. #virgilabloh #offwhite #ROSEWOOD FOREVER pic.twitter.com/vL4BXRZP0R
— Tony Williams (@TWFTonyWilliams) November 28, 2021
Abloh was born in the year 1980 in Illinois to Ghanaian immigrant parents. He completed his bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later pursued his Master of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Abloh started his career as an intern at the Italian luxury fashion house Fendi in 2009.
Abloh is survived by his wife Shannon Abloh, two kids Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sibling Edwina Abloh and his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh.
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