Virgil Abloh, acclaimed Louis Vuitton designer and founder, Off White, recently passed away. LVMH announced the news on social media. Virgil was 41, and was battling cancer for several years.
LVMH CEO, Bernard Arnault, in the caption, said, “We’re all shocked. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and a great wisdom.”
The news was also confirmed via Virgil’s Instagram account. The post caption mentioned, that 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.”
Since March 2018, Abloh was in charge of the menswear design at Louis Vuitton. He is known to have revamped the legendary suitcase maker, and gave it a much-needed youthful twist, attract more millennials. Virgil had also started the famous streetwear brand Off White in 2013. Reportedly, LVMH had acquired a 60% stake in the brand.
The news of Virgil’s death has sent shockwaves across the industry and tributes have been pouring in from the fashion world and beyond. Kim Jones, menswear artistic director at LVMH’s Dior, said that Virgil was one of the “kindest you could meet,” while football legend David Beckham described him as “a true creative pioneer whose legacy will last forever”. Luxury brand Gucci also paid tribute to Virgil and said that he was an “inspiration to us all.”
Virgil had great social media following as well. He has more than 6 million Instagram followers. His social media posts always reflected his daily inspirations. From vintage sneakers to pictures of old cars, and even his latest creations, collaborations and travels, he kept it natural on social media.
Virgil, who was born in Rockford, Illinois, on September 30, 1980, was a civil engineer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison before doing a master’s degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Virgil is survived by his wife, Shannon, and their two children, Lowe and Grey stated the caption in his Instagram account.
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