Virgil Abloh’s Most Famous Works and What You Need to Know
Virgil Abloh sadly passed away but his legacy will forever stay in the fashion and design industry...
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This Sunday, November 28, Virgil Abloh, American designer known for his work for the Louis Vuitton, Off-White and Nike brands, passed away at 41 after battling with cancer. The Off-White founder and Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton was most recently seen in Doha, Qatar, at the opening of his exhibition “Figures of Speech.”
The American designer has risen from a Chicago kid obsessed with fashion, art, design, and culture to the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear operation.
1. Been Trill Yankees cap, 2013
Mr. Abloh and two other men he had met through Donda, Mr. West’s creative incubator, teamed up to create Been Trill, a DJ and creative collective.
2. IKEA collection, 2017
Virgil Abloh unveiled his much-anticipated Ikea collection, featuring 15 pieces that aim to bring high fashion to the interiors world – and at a budget-friendly price point. Abloh has brought his signature humour and wit to everyday objects, for example a rug created to look like an Ikea receipt or a carrier bag that reads “sculpture” in bold text.
3. Off-White industrial belt, 2016
Virgil Abloh’s famous bright yellow industrial strap belt is one of the biggest streetwear statement pieces of the 21st century.
4. The Life of Pablo merch, 2016
The West collaborator first met Virgil Abloh in 2014. Abloh approached DeWitt about doing a collaboration. Together, they put together an installation at Dover Street Market Ginza that featured some of his tees. Abloh eventually introduced him to West, who commissioned him to make a DONDA sweatshirt.
5. Nike x Off-White “The Ten,” 2017
Virgil Abloh and Nike embarked on what will be considered the greatest and most ambitious sneaker collaborations of all time in 2017. Called “The 10,” the collection featured a full range of Nike, Air Jordan, and Converse sneakers that Abloh ripped apart and rebuilt, and they’d gain critical and secondary market acclaim.
6. Off-White leather jacket, 2015
7. Louis Vuitton Keepall, 2018
This colorful take on the Keepall Bandouliere 50 represents the pioneering vision of menswear artistic director Virgil Abloh: the combination of his youthful vibrancy with the timeless elegance of Louis Vuitton. Made of Monogram-embossed PVC, this generously sized bag captures the eye with its bold, iridescent hues. A choice between the removable strap or top handles for carrying ensures versatility.
8. Louis Vuitton suit, 2018
His arrival at LVMH marked the marriage between streetwear and high-end fashion, mixing sneakers and camouflage pants with tailored suits and evening gowns.
9. Off-White x Nike x Serena Williams, 2018
The Off-White designer and Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director showed off the new kicks, writing, “For Serena Only” and “‘Air’ Williams” in white marker on the side of each shoe.
10. Off-White x Rimowa luggage, 2018
The series of transparent cases feature a range of signature off-white design touches, including Virgil Abloh‘s quotation marks around words such as “SECURITY”, “PERSONAL” and “BELONGINGS”.
11. Louis Vuitton Beaded Mid-Layer, 2019
New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman confirmed the French house’s official terminology for the garment: “a beaded bib.” (Abloh himself called it a “mid-layer garment” on his personal Instagram.)
12. Travis Scott “Astroworld” merch, 2019
The “BY A THREAD” design features a screen print of the rapper’s Rodeo character wearing the designer’s Air Jordan I “Chicago” sneakers.
Prior to this, Scott had shared a similar design with the rapper wearing his own “Cactus Jack” Air Jordan IVs. The T-shirt was available for just 24 hours and came with a pre-sale ticket for a future Travis Scott headlining tour. Buyers also received a digital copy of Astroworld.
13. Evian bottle, 2019
evian’s collaboration with evian’s Creative Advisor for Sustainable Innovation Design, Virgil Abloh, features a limited edition line of 750mL glass bottles and a collection of refillable glass bottles.
14. Virgil Abloh’s Contributions to Multiple Album Covers
Abloh’s mind conceived the artwork of many of Kanye West’s albums, and even the cover of Watch The Throne, officially designed by Riccardo Tisci, was created under his supervision. The designer was the one who picked artist George Condo to paint several different covers for West.
15. Pyrex Vision, 2012
In 2012, Abloh launched his first company, Pyrex Vision. Abloh purchased deadstock clothing from Ralph Lauren for $40, screen-printed designs on them and sold them for prices upward of $550. The stated goal of Pyrex Vision was to represent the importance of youth culture, by centering the designs around a garment that most youth would notice from gym class. Virgil’s ideas could be clearly geared around the importance of the now. He closed the company down a year later as he did not intend it to be a commercial enterprise, but an artistic experiment.
