Creative director of Louis Vuitton died: Who was Virgil Abloh in the world of fashion?

American designer Virgil Abloh, creative director of Louis Vuitton's men's line, died of cancer this Sunday at the age of 41, announced the LVHM group, to which that brand belongs.

“We are shocked by this terrible news. Virgil was not only a magnificent designer, a visionary, but also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom," the owner of that luxury conglomerate, Bernard Arnault, said on Twitter.

Abloh was also creative director of the Off White brand, of which LVMH was the majority shareholder, and had suffered from cancer for years, as specified in that message in which condolences were sent "to all those who loved him".

climbing in fashion

The creator, who became known as a creative adviser to the American rapper Kanye West, was appointed as the head of the creative direction of the Louis Vuitton menswear line in March 2018, as the successor of the British Kim Jones.

Abloh then pointed out that Louis Vuitton's heritage and "creative integrity" were key sources of inspiration for him and that he would pay tribute to them, as well as try to build bridges with today.

Born in Rockford in 1980, the son of parents who emigrated from Ghana to the United States, he had turned his own brand, Off White, created in 2012, into one of the most attractive to young audiences thanks in part to his relationship with West and other singers. .

Garments with messages

The American was also known for including political claims on his garments. He had a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

His first collection at the head of Louis Vuitton was released in June 2018. In the gardens of the Palais Royal in Paris, some 3,000 people attended the event and hundreds of others waited at the four entrances to the park to see the stars who attended the parade. , including West and his then-wife, Kim Kardashian.

Abloh, a father of two, said then that he had fulfilled his dream and hoped to motivate others to pursue theirs: "You can do it too," he wrote on Instagram after the show.

a hidden disease

Through Instagram, where he had 6.5 million followers, it was specified this Sunday that since 2019 he had suffered from cardiac angiosarcoma, an aggressive and rare type of cancer, for which he had undergone "numerous treatments" that he decided not to do. public.

“Her endless curiosity about him and optimism about him never wavered. Virgil Abloh was driven by his dedication to his art and his mission to open doors for others and to create avenues for greater equality in art and design,” the message added.

In addition to being a stylist, the American had a long and varied resume: DJ, musician, music producer, influencer and celebrity friend. Enough for Time magazine to consider him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

In September 2019, the designer set off alarms when he did not come out to say hello after a fashion show.

Then it was said that his doctor had recommended rest after diagnosing him with "burnout", that is, wear and tear due to overwork known in Spanish as burnt worker syndrome.