Welcome to the 138th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode, we remember the great Virgil Abloh, celebrating a life cut too short as we surpass the one-year anniversary of V’s unexpected death.
On November 28th, 2021, designers, admirers and enthusiasts alike stood together to commemorate the tragic death of Virgil Abloh. In completely unexpected news, it was announced that Louis Vuitton’s creative director had been silently battling a rare form of cancer known as cardiac angiosarcoma, first diagnosed in 2019. At the age of 41, the Rockford native would leave behind a wife, two children and an unparalleled cultural legacy.
Born on September 30th, 1980, Virgil Abloh’s journey begins at Boylan Catholic Highschool, from which he graduated in ‘98. DJing through his youth while learning to sew under his mother’s direction, V would complete an undergraduate in civil engineering, skipping his final critique to meet with Kanye West’s manager John Monopoly. Sparking a friendship that would last until his final days, Abloh would begin working alongside Ye for the better part of the 2000s, before interning collaboratively at Fendi (2009).
Though shortlived, their stint at the Rome Maison would pave the way for coming projects, opening RSVP gallery that same year. Ye would appoint Virgil as creative director for ‘DONDA’, the shadowed agency responsible for West’s ambitious projects (2010), where he would oversee the design process for ‘Watch the Throne’. Abloh’s DJ collective ‘Been Trill’ would establish two years later, subtly performing in boiler rooms.
Abloh’s first brand ‘Pyrex Vision’ was founded soon after but would rebrand to Off-White within twelve months. Classified as the “gray area between black and white”, Off-White would be the artist’s establishing muse for the next six years, eventually called upon to replace Kim Jones at Louis Vuitton menswear. Throughout nine collections, Virgil Abloh would influence and inspire a generation of youth, for “you can do it too…”
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