11.29.21
LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White state that they are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th. He was 41 years old.
Abloh died of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years.
“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.”
------Bernard Arnault, LVMH Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Virgil Abloh was Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton
Abloh was known as a 'streetwear pioneer.' Born in Rockford, Illinois in 1980, Virgil Abloh was an artist, architect, engineer, creative director, and designer.Abloh had been working with LVMH for since 2015, when he won the LVMH Prize for Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh, which he founded in 2013.
Abloh's brand, Off-White, began as an artwork titled, "Pyrex Vision" in 2012. The following year, the brand premiered a seasonal men’s and women’s fashion label, and debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 2015.
By 2018, LVMH had named him Men's Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton. In July, 2021, LVMH acquired a majority stake in his company, Off-White LLC.
Abloh also collaborated with other brands, in other industries. Earlier this year, Braun recruited Abloh to help celebrate its 100th anniversary by redesigning its 1965 ‘Wandanlage’ a hi-fi audio wall unit—and make it "functional art."
Throughout his career, Abloh has received many awards, including the British Fashion Awards “Urban Luxe” award and International Designer of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2017.
