Serious cancer
At the age of 41: Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh has died
Succumb to serious cancer: Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh
© Vianney Le Cear / AP / DPA
He was the creative chief strategist of superstar Kanye West and the first African American to hold the post of chief designer of the men’s line at Louis Vuitton: Now Virgil Abloh has died at the age of only 41.
The Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh died unexpectedly. The LVMH group announced in the evening that he succumbed to the consequences of serious cancer at the age of 41 on Sunday. The chairman of the French luxury goods group, Bernard Arnault, said according to the announcement: “We are all shocked by this terrible news. Virgil was not only a brilliant designer, a visionary – he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom.”
Abloh has been fighting a very rare and aggressive cancer for more than two years, according to the designer’s personal Instagram account. After the diagnosis in 2019, he decided not to make the disease public and has since endured several debilitating treatments.
Virgil Abloh: Ex-creative strategist at Kanye West
Abloh, who was also known as a DJ and founded his own streetwear brand Off-White, has been the creative director of the men’s line at Louis Vuitton since March 2018. It was only in July that LVMH announced that Abloh, who was born in the US state of Illinois in 1980, would also take on other tasks in the group.
His entry at Louis Vuitton had caused a stir in 2018, Abloh was previously the creative chief strategist of US musician Kanye West and the first African American in the job. In addition, Abloh was not a trained designer – he studied civil engineering and architect. He leaves behind his wife Shannon and two children.