Virgil Abloh’s rise to the heights of the traditional luxury industry since the breakthrough of his brand Off-White in 2012 changed what was possible in fashion. The sudden news of his death yesterday at age 41 has left the fashion industry, the music industry, and creatives all around the globe shocked, with many taking to social media to share tributes and memories in honor of his impactful life.
The CEO & Founder of Off-White and creative director of men’s at Louis Vuitton passed away in Chicago after a two-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that he was able to keep private. Virgil was widely considered to have single-handedly changed the industry and opened doors for an entire generation of artists within fashion, art and music.
His approach to design inspired comparisons to artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Basquiat.
In honor of his memory, here are a few life changing quotes you can apply to your professional career in fashion, music or film:
Life is so short, that, you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do
Interview on Education, Art, Culture, and Design XQ America
July 29, 2020
It’s important to think about the inter connectors between designers and thinkers
Virgil Abloh Lecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design
Oct 26, 2017
Modern culture thrives off the ironics
Fashion is one of the greatest vehicles to merge music, art, architecture, design, typography — it’s a wide enough canvas, or a big enough sandbox, to touch all the different things that I’m into
When everyone is going right, go a little bit left
Converse All-Star Interview; Virgil Abloh and Samuel Ross – Mentorship and Creativity
Oct, 2020
That first no is so valuable because it tells you which direction to go
Converse All-Star Interview; Virgil Abloh and Samuel Ross – Mentorship and Creativity
Oct, 2020
Check out reactions from some of his celebrity friends in the gallery below:
