Virgil Abloh : The Creative

Jordan Stanley

   My creative of choice is Virgil Abloh. Virgil Abloh is the current Men’s Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton and the founder of the Milan-based label Off-White. He has a vast creative background, which includes, and is certainly not limited to, interning at Fendi in 2009, in 2011 directed the art of Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne album cover, in 2012 launching Pyrex Vision, Off-White, and Been Trill, in 2017 directing a music video for Lil Uzi Vert, a shoe collaboration with Nike, and a collaboration with Ikea. Before all this though, he was just Virgil Abloh born in 1980 on September 30th at Rockford, Illinois. He attended the Boylan Catholic High School and graduated in 1998. In 2006, he completes his undergrad in civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to his undergrad, he completed his master’s in architecture also in 2006, at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Two statements by him that truly show his mindset as a designer and a creative is, “The only failure is not to try…. It’s the amount of work, the refinement of that work, that will define who you are as a creative,” and “Pick your mentors and understand what makes their work tick.” Virgil Abloh is inspired by many people and things, whether dead or alive. For example one of his Women’s collections were inspired by the late Princess Diana. He included a picture (shown below) on his instagram. He has also been influenced this year by the Black Lives Matter Movement, producing clothing items and supporting their cause. 100% of these items proceeds went towards Chicago CRED, which focuses on reducing gun violence by creating opportunities in fashion. 

   He has had a plethora of exhibits, fashion shows upon fashion shows, which not only show his range of talents but also where influence is drawn. For Off-White’s spring/summer 2020 menswear show in Paris he gathered influence from the graffiti scene in 1980s New York.  

In this other picture, (shown below) he includes clothing pieces influenced by track and field. It included a blend of sporty and fashionable silhouettes. By doing so, he created a fusion of fashion and sports. This specific fashion show included people by the likes of Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Janice Dilone, the Hong Kong high jumper Cecilia Yeung, and the British sprinter Dina Asher Smith. 

He’s been influenced by color theory, the Wizard of Oz, and simply vocabulary words such as psychedelia, tie dye, and rainbow. He claimed his new design vocabulary, influenced by already existing things as said above, writing an A to Z dictionary of terms related to his collection, each having his own definition and explanation of the idea aroused with it.  For example, “R for Rainbow is a kaleidoscopic palette evolving from off-white to polychromatic, synchronously forming a holographic arch known to represent dreams. A Motif in The Wizard of Ox, which provides construct to the Spring-Summer 2019 collection.” Pictured below are models from this very fashion show.

  Virgil Abloh is one of the most influential and well-watched creatives, but even he has gained knowledge by being influenced himself. He was won award upon award, where a shortlist would include Urban Luxe Brand Award at the British Fashion Awards 2017, and the International Designer of the Year Award at the GQ Awards in 2017 as well.

SOURCES

Ab. “‘Virgil Abloh’s Lessons for Creatives’ – 36 Chapters.” Medium, 23 July 2020, 36chapters.com/virgil-ablohs-lessons-for-creatives-6ca91764f90a.

Australia, G. “Virgil Abloh Brings A Little Piece Of Off-White To The GQ Awards Red Carpet.” GQ, 14 May 2018, www.gq.com.au/men-of-the-year/event-coverage/virgil-abloh-brings-a-little-piece-of-offwhite-to-the-gq-awards-red-carpet/news-story/a726cc557bd5f3de6f787350d19cbd8c.

Bahadursingh, Nathan. “Virgil Abloh on Architecture, Fashion and the Birth of Ideas.” Journal, 2 July 2020, architizer.com/blog/inspiration/stories/virgil-abloh.

Cochrane, Lauren. “Virgil Abloh Draws from 1980s Graffiti Culture for Off-White Show.” The Guardian, 3 July 2019, www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/19/virgil-abloh-draws-from-1980s-graffiti-culture-for-off-white-show.

Grobe, Max. “Virgil Abloh Gives Fans BTS Access to Creative Process with ‘Off-WhiteTM Seasons.’” Highsnobiety, 4 Aug. 2020, www.highsnobiety.com/p/off-white-seasons-instagram.

—. “Virgil Abloh to Louis Vuitton: A Timeline Of His Career.” Highsnobiety, 23 Apr. 2020, www.highsnobiety.com/p/virgil-abloh-career-timeline.

Hitti, Natashah. “Virgil Abloh Makes Debut for Louis Vuitton on Rainbow Runway in Paris.” Dezeen, 27 June 2018, www.dezeen.com/2018/06/27/virgil-abloh-louis-vuitton-paris-rainbow-runway-fashion.

Lam, Teresa. “Off-WhiteTM’s SS19 ‘Track & Field’ Show Is Filled with Nike Swooshes.” HYPEBAE, 27 Sept. 2018, hypebae.com/2018/9/off-white-virgil-abloh-spring-summer-2019-track-and-field-paris-fashion-week-show.

Mower, Sarah. “Off-White Fall 2020 Ready-to-Wear Collection.” Vogue, 23 Mar. 2020, www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2020-ready-to-wear/off-white.

Nembhard, Candice. “Fashion Icon Awards 2017: Virgil Abloh and Raf Simons Win Big.” Highsnobiety, 6 Dec. 2017, www.highsnobiety.com/p/british-fashion-awards-2017-virgil-abloh.

“Off-White.” Farfetch, 2020, www.farfetch.com/nl/shopping/men/off-white-i-support-young-black-businesses-hoodie-item-15338678.aspx.

Ramirez, Erika. “Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘Watch the Throne’: Track-by-Track Review.” Billboard, 14 Jan. 2013, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/468031/jay-z-and-kanye-wests-watch-the-throne-track-by-track-review.

Yotka, Steff. “Virgil Abloh Biography and Career Timeline.” Vogue, 4 Apr. 2018, www.vogue.com/article/virgil-abloh-biography-career-timeline.