The fashion community mourns Virgil Abloh, who made the industry seem so much bigger

News of the death of avant-garde designer Virgil Abloh at the age of 41 was posted online on Sunday with shock, grief and admiration from friends and fans alike. The response made it clear that, in addition to his immense influence in the public, he will be remembered for his kindness and connection. Indeed, as the fashion community mourns the designer on social media, it becomes clear that the “fashion community” is now wider than ever, because Abloh helped expand it.

“My work exists in the space of popular culture,” Abloh told GQ this early year. And like close friend and collaborator Kanye West, Off-White founder and artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton has helped open fashion to the rest of the world, fitting in with the times. digital age. Musicians, actors, fashion insiders, and Instagram influencers all flock to his designs in part because they align with the culture: there’s something for everyone. . Abloh is known for her collaborations and friendships with celebrities including Ye, Bella and Gigi Hadid, and drake, all of whom shared their gratitude to the designer yesterday. (Ye dedicated his most recent Sunday Service to Abloh, whom he met in his early years and has been the creative director of Ye’s Donda project since 2010.) In a statement LVMH’s father and chairman, Bernard Arnault, said that Abloh was “not only a genius, a designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great intellect. On Instagram, street fashion legend Nigo Written, “He used to say that he was influenced by me a lot, but now I can’t imagine myself without Virgil’s presence.”

Many of Abloh’s young friends and fans grew up in the era the designer helped forge — the era in which fashion, streetwear, hip-hop, art and the internet have shaped a constant stream of consciousness and in which he is an accessible person. Model Hailey Bieber, who donned a custom Off-White gown with unmistakable Virgil stroke (“TILL DEATH DO US PART”, quotes and all, embroidered on the veil) in the crowd her wedding to Justin Bieber, Written that “Virgil has completely changed the way I look at street style and fashion.” Actor Timothée Chalamet, Celebrities wear a Vuitton belt designed by Abloh for the 2019 Golden Globes, shared Direct message with designer about their love for rapper Kid Cudi. “I am so grateful for all that you have done for all of us and for the community you have built,” Written Luka Sabbat, a close friend of Abloh’s. “Thank you for breaking boundaries and moving the conversation forward. We cannot stop now”. In the words of Zack Bia, their friend: “People often say ‘don’t meet your idol’…no one has done this more untrue than Virgil.”

The sheer number of Instagram direct messages, text messages and WhatsApp chats shared after Abloh’s passing is testament to the human mark he left on the fashion world, not commonly known for its fervor. It looks like Abloh has reached out and responded to everyone — eager to sign up, support, and encourage. In a way, the mass media is both his medium and his message. In a direct message that stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson shared on Instagram yesterdayAbloh says, “My goal is to spawn 100 versions of us with this platform every day!,” an emotion he repeats often. Along with the post, Karefa-Johnson wrote, “Kindness is unparalleled and will be greatly missed. God, I can’t believe we have to do fashion without him.”