By: Riya Chaturvedi and Noe Lee
On November 28, 2021the artistic world was shaken by the heartbreaking loss of an incredible norm defying trailblazer: Virgil Abloh. We are paying tribute to his ideals and impact as the whole Flare team was inspired by his work immensely.
Virgil Abloh, creative director of Louis Vuitton and CEO of Off-White, left a legacy of art, fashion, and activism behind in his wake. A first-generation US Citizen from Ghana, Abloh was born in 1980, and during his 41 years of life he made a name for himself in architecture, music, art, and fashion. Best known for his unconventional ideas, Abloh referred to himself as a “maker”, refusing to pigeonhole himself into one career path or talent. He explored several mediums and excelled in combining them.
Abloh refused to see things just as they were presented to him, believing that all things were connected. He drew parallels between the styles he saw on the street and those that he created on the runway. Abloh’s continual refusal to conform to the societal limits of his career allowed him to look at things in a new way. His groundbreaking beliefs about fashion permeated through his designs and projects, sharing his views with the rest of the world. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Abloh’s experience with streetwear allowed him to implement those styles into high fashion like no one else had before. He broke streetwear into high fashion, and broke the stereotypes and limits of the fashion industry, while also becoming the first black creative director of Louis Vuitton.
Abloh describes his own luxury brand Off-White as a line to not only be worn by the wealthy, but to inspire the youth of today to create their own clothing and creativity. In saying this, Abloh highlights that “ you can start a competing brand that is [even] better than Off White.” He supported many young up and coming artists and always
valued what the next generation of fashion had to say.
A valued mentor in the fashion world, Virgil Abloh always made sure his eyes and ears were open to the words of fellow makers.. Abloh hoped that the next generation of young creators would pursue their passions that aligned with their identity and ideas. Abloh changed the world of fashion forever, and even after his recent passing, his dream continues on through the path-defiers. Virgil Abloh inspired many, from fellow designers and artists to younger demographics watching the artistic industries welcome a young black man with open arms. The fashion industry hasn’t always been supportive of individuality and being different.
Abloh’s creative successes are a physical embodiment of the change that an entire generation has worked for. While his ideas were innovative and new, he also followed the idea of a “3% rule.” Abloh’s concept of creating new designs revolved around the idea of changing only 3% of the original article; this subtle change could completely alter the design. His bold opinions about the fashion world are seen specifically through his piece Tourist vs. Purist. This piece comments on his initial feeling of being an outsider to the fashion world as a black man, and the ways in which he was kept out of the purist category. For further context, HauteLiving defined the parts of this piece: the tourist is the curious outsider who observes and aspires to an esoteric domain of knowledge, while the purist is the insider who innately has it. Tourist vs. Purist is a beautiful piece that highlighted the contrast in between expertise and excitement.
Abloh saw himself as somewhere in between; not a fashion elitist, but also not a complete outsider to the world of style. To him, fashion was not just items to wear but items that could comment on identity, art, music, philosophy, and politics. The fashion world mourns this loss, but also reflects on the immense impact Virgil had and will continue to have, inspiring today’s youth.
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