American fashion designer, artist, and DJ Virgil Abloh left behind a fortune of $100 million When he passed away in November of 2021. Forging the path for high-end streetwear label Off-White, Virgil was a prominent figure in the fashion industry as a director.
In 2018, he was promoted to the position of artistic director at Louis Vuitton. Formerly, he worked as a creative director for Kanye West. Abloh made history as the first African-American to lead a French haute couture house as creative director.
Time magazine recognized him as one of the year’s 100 most important individuals. The Council of Fashion Designers of America has added Abloh to its board of directors for 2019.
In July of 2021/2021, he had LVMH buy a controlling interest in his label Off-White.
Virgil’s courageous fight with cancer ultimately ended on November 28, 2021.
Early Life
Virgil Abloh’s birthdate is September 30th, 1980 and he was born in Rockford, Illinois. His parents came to the US from Ghana.
Virgil received his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from UW–Madison in 2002, and then his Master of Architecture from IIT (IIT). He started a style blog while a student at IIT and designed his first set of t-shirts during that time.
Career with Kanye West
Virgil was able to secure an internship with Fendi after completing his studies at IIT, and he did it at the company’s Rome headquarters. Kanye West, the future of hip hop and fashion, was an intern at Fendi alongside him. After hitting it off, the two began working together on designs.
Virgil and his business partner opened a shop in Chicago in 2010 named RSVP Gallery. At Kanye’s advertising firm DONDA, which he founded the same year, Virgil was named creative director by Kanye.
Kanye recruited Virgil to serve as the album’s artistic director in 2011.
Off-White
Virgil launched his Off-White brand in Milan in 2013. The company’s first range of women’s clothing was introduced in 2014 and debuted at Paris Fashion Week.
The company’s signature style quickly became recognizable thanks to its distinctive application of quotation marks, capital letters, zip ties, and barricade tape.
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He has worked with companies including Nike on the “The Ten” sneaker release in 2017 and Ikea on furniture and tote bag designs.
Along with Rimowa, he debuted a new collection of travel bags in 2018.
LV: Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton‘s men’s ready-to-wear collection welcomed Virgil as its new artistic director in March 2018.
LVMH revealed its 60% ownership of Off-White in July 2021 for an unknown sum. Off-White had 56 stores in 40 countries at the time of the acquisition.
Salary
When Virgil Abloh worked for LVMH, he was paid $10 million a year.
The LVMH Purchase
LVMH bought a 60% share in Off-White on July 20, 2021. As part of the deal, Abloh was also elevated to a role where he would be responsible for a wide range of LVMH product categories, including the hospitality sector and alcoholic beverage labels like Hennessy and Dom Perignon.
Private Matters
Virgil and his wife Shannon met in high school. They tied the knot in 2009 and are already parents to two young children.