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Louis Vuitton’s full mesh shoe in grey.
Virgil Abloh is a Ghanaian-American fashion designer who has been the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s wear collection since March 2018. Apart from his work at Louis Vuitton, Abloh serves as the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013 .
Where did this chap study fashion?
Um, actually, hate to break it to ya, but Virgil Abloh has no formal fashion training.
Come again?
Yep, he has a degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Architecture.
He started out designing buildings?
He worked at a Chicago architecture firm. How did he get into fashion? Abloh engineered a meeting with Kanye West to be his creative advisor. They both interned together at Fendi and then Abloh founded his luxury streetwear brand Off-White in 2014. He says, “My brand started in the streets and the alleys of the internet.”
Does he have other celebrity mates?
Naomi Campbell, Drake, Beyoncé, ASAP Rocky and Gigi Hadid are fans and Rihanna called him ‘GOAT’ on Instagram.
Solid credentials.
Where’s he from? Chicago. Abloh liked football and skateboarding and DJd as Flat White.
What’s he up to now?
He’ll show his first Louis Vuitton collection in June in Paris. He’s also bringing out a line of home furnishings for IKEA. Next year the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago will show an exhibition of his design work.
So, he’s terrifyingly cool then?
Correct. He even has a range of spirulina water at Paris health café Wild & The Moon.
I like the sound of him.
Me too. He once said, “My motivation is the angst that comes from feeling like I don’t belong.”
