The Incredible Impact of Virgil Abloh on the Fashion Industry and Beyond
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From skateboarding to architecture, the work of Virgil Abloh went beyond just creating fashion designs and, because of this, he changed the name of luxury fashion forever. Virgil Abloh, one of the most influential fashion designers of his time and founder of Off-White, died at the age of 41 on November 28th this year. A great inspiration for many, he paved the way for a new generation of creatives who no longer want to be defined by one single title.
In the announcement of his death on Instagram, the post read “Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity, and optimism never wavered. Virgil was driven by his dedication to his craft and to his mission to open doors for others”. From his work with Louis Vuitton, to his brand Off-White, this article will look at Abloh’s influence across the industry and beyond.
With his mother being a seamstress, Abloh began sewing at a young age. However, he worked as a DJ, a visual artist and an architect before he began designing professionally. His first move into the fashion industry saw him screen-printing designs onto Ralph Lauren flannel shirts which set the tone for his future work. Alongside his earlier careers, his early passion for skateboarding largely influenced his interest in fashion. This inspiration allowed him to believe that everything could be connected, meaning his designs were inspired by many things; from what he saw in the street to classical art. This led to his ideas coming from the rough style of streetwear, with his designs combining this with high fashion.
He launched his first fashion line, Pyrex Vision, in 2012 which saw a small collection of hoodies, basketball shorts and flannel shirts covered in Renaissance artwork. In 2013, he created his fashion brand, Off-White, where we saw the reveal of his first collection in 2014, which largely reflected the shift in the fashion industry at the time. At first, his work wasn’t taken well by the industry, with Abloh telling the Observer in 2019, “When I was showing in fashion week people were saying, ‘that’s not fashion’”. At the time, luxury clothing was very fixed so by bringing streetwear to a fashion show context, Abloh began to break down the set ideas surrounding the industry to combine the two areas of fashion.
Through his work with Off-White, he collaborated with many premium brands such as Mercedes Benz and Jimmy Choo, with his most notable collaboration being with Nike. Here he designed multiple collections, which not only won him a Shoe of the Year Award in 2017, but also allowed him to design competition outfits for Serena Williams. From this, Abloh is largely known for his creation of Hailey Bieber’s wedding dress; a stunning, off-the-shoulder lace dress with a veil that read “till death do us part”.
In 2018, Abloh became the artistic director for the menswear division of Louis Vuitton which led to him becoming one of only two leading Black designers at a Parisian house, alongside Olivier Rousteing at Balmain. When speaking about Abloh’s role in fashion, Darnell Lisby James, fashion historian, said that he “undoubtedly broke down a few doors that hopefully will make things easier for up and coming designers and other designers of colour”. From this, his first show for Louis Vuitton aimed to remodel the brand for a new generation by using a diverse cast of models. The runway was inspired by The Wizard of Oz with a reference to the American Dream, which perfectly represented his ideas surrounding the fashion industry.
Aside from his role in the fashion industry, Abloh also had a big role in creating opportunities for others who were denied a chance. One of the biggest examples of this is the uniform he created for the Melting Passes, a football team of recently immigrated players in Paris who were excluded from playing in official competition due to lack of residency. He also invited 3,000 students to his first Louis Vuitton show at the Tuileries in 2018, an opportunity many students rarely get. This reflects his large role in helping young designers, with Abloh also mentoring young black designers and creating his Post-Modern Scholarship Fund in August 2020. This fund was a response to Black Lives Matter to create inclusion within the fashion industry by providing scholarships for aspiring fashion students with Black, African-American or African descent.
One of the most successful Black designers of his generation, it’s clear that Virgil Abloh’s role in the fashion industry will be dearly missed. Not only changing the name of luxury fashion forever but also helping many other designers with their move into the industry, Abloh used his beliefs to have a massive impact on many areas. Following his death, celebrities such as Gigi Hadid and Justin Timberlake have paid tribute to Abloh, showing that he will always be remembered for making streetwear a normal and common part of luxury fashion.
by Tia Janowski (Staff Fashion & Beauty Writer)
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