Virgil Abloh Has Died at Age 41

Virgil Abloh, Founder of Off-white and the creative director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection has died at age 41 after suffering from cancer.

According to an announcement made on his verified Instagram page, the artistic director suffered from cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare, aggressive form of the disease, through it all he pursed his work ethic and was  dedicated to his craft and mission to create opportunities and pathways for others for greater equality in art and design. 

He often said, “Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,” believing deeply in the power of art to inspire future generations.” the post added.

As a trained architect Abloh was the first African American of decent to be the creative director at a French Luxury Fashion brand. However all this was achieved after the designer, in Chicago street fashion, joined the world of international fashion workshop with an internship at Fendi alongside kanye West where the duo collaborated to launch Abloh’s career into founding Off-white. The designer has since, until his death, been doing a great job in his field.

Throughout his career Abloh has received various awards and honors such as the British Fashion Awards “Urban Luxe” award and International Designer of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2017. He was part of the 2015 finalists of the LVMH Prize. Vigil was also mentioned as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by the time magazine.