Abloh's Altar: A Gen Z Response to the Loss of Virgil Abloh
Tastemaker, visionary, ground breaker, disrupter, just a few words that described Virgil as he was. We have experienced such a great loss with his passing that words cannot fathom but I’ll try. Even at the top of his field Virgil laid the groundwork for black designers and creatives everywhere, by laying “the roadmap”.
By giving people like murder bravado and Christopher kites an opportunity to collaborate he took the opportunities he was giving and gave it to others those impacting the community beyond being just a symbol, he was the one lighting the guiding us through the tunnel and showing us anything is possible within the field that we chose.
The story of a Kid from Chicago who went from working at a print shop to the creative director of Louis Vuitton, all without studying traditional fashion methods. A man who studied architecture took the principles of design and applies it to other facets and mixed it with basic graphic design standards proved that apply industrial design to clothing, cars, and even furniture and pushed so far past the limit that there’s was practically no line between “streetwear” and “high fashion” thus pushing clothing into a direction where only those within 6 degrees knew what do next, paving the way for Mathew M Williams at Givenchy, heron Preston at his name sake label and Evard best at who decides war to come in on a wave the Virgil created.
His passing raised a number of questions, what happens to the rest of the Nike collab? Who’s going to take the helm at off white and LV? Can anyone come in and authentically continue to push the envelope like he has? Beyond just the fashion and hype, he was genuine. I remember the first time crossing paths and he just answered question I had about getting started in the industry when I was 16, to bumping into him on mulberry hours before the met recently with Tremaine (of denim tears) and hearing his laugh cause of my outburst, he was genuine, he wanted the the culture to grow, and thrive and understood that the only way that will happen is by leaving the gate open for others to come in and add there touch to it. That’s why this is such an impactful loss, not because of the “bottom line” or resellers now jacking up the cost of anything he touched to crazy prices.
“For those up and coming designers who hoped to cross paths and get the seal of “approval” from him I feel as though this hurts a little more.”
It's really the INFLUENCE he had and the influence he shared. For those up and coming designers who hoped to cross paths and get the seal of “approval” from him I feel as though this hurts a little more. They say never meet you idols but the brief interactions I’ve had with him disproved that statement. The man woke up and created like he was still trying to get where he was even when he had already made it there, how could you look at him and not be inspired. Virgil will forever be missed and his impact will forever be felt, no matter the industry, no matter the medium, he was there. He created art/ cloths in a way that caused audiences far and wild to gravitate towards it, and I consider it a rare quality to be able to impact the world across different forms of media in that way while also remaining as genuine he did, that why he was so influential, that how a kid from Chicago conquered the fashion industry.
The Takeaway
Virgil laid the groundwork for black designers and creatives everywhere, by laying “the roadmap”. He gave the culture and community opportunities that positively impacted the community. His passing is a deep wound for the community and raises questions about how the creative community is going to move forward and represent the culture?
