Publié
Sun, Nov 28, 2021, 19:40
- The Off-White founder passed away in Chicago on Sunday, November 28th, from cancer.
Visionary fashion designer and DJ Virgil Abloh has died aged 41 in Chicago.
News broke earlier today, November 28th, via the official Twitter account of luxury goods company LVMH Group. The post says that Abloh died of cancer, which he had been "battling privately for several years."
Born in Rockford, Illinois, in 1980, Abloh will be best remembered as the creator of the beloved Off-White brand and as the artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton. He had recently been promoted to work across LVMH group's 75 brands, making him the "most powerful Black executive in the most powerful luxury group in the world," wrote the New York Times.
But Abloh was also a keen DJ and dance music fan, with more than 25 years experience in the industry. He cut his teeth in Chicago, DJing high-school parties and working the door at Ron Trent and Sonia H's Africa Hi-Fi nights.
Later in his career, Abloh's achievements in music were myriad and multi-disciplinary. He famously oversaw the artistic direction on several Kanye West albums plus a live tour. He also made music with Boys Noize and serpentwithfeet, held a DJ residency at XS Nightclub in Las Vegas, and designed transparent CDJs in partnership with Pioneer DJ, among many other things.
Revisit our Exchange with Abloh from earlier this year.
Tributes have been pouring in from the electronic music industry and beyond.
Update, November 28th: This piece was updated at 9:30 PM GMT to include the place of death (Chicago) and the New York Times quote.
With additional reporting by Matt McDermott.