Groundbreaking artist, fashion designer, and creative Virgil Abloh has died aged just 41, following a private battle with cancer.
Abloh worked closely with the hip hop community, especially with Kanye West, who was his long term creative partner. He was the artistic director of Ye and Jay-Z’s collaborative Watch The Throne project and produced the cover art for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus, A$AP Rocky’s Long.Live.A$AP, Westside Gunn’s Pray For Paris, among others.
Following his death, LVMH, the French holding company that owns luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton, for who he worked as creative director, said, “We are all shocked after this terrible news,” said LVMH boss Bernard Arnault. “Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary; he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom.
“The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend.”
Frank Ocean lovingly said in a statement, “In 2018 I believe it was I called V and asked him how it was possible to play hundreds of shows a year and do numerous fashion collections a year and be a father and a husband and return EVERYONE’s texts with enthusiasm and emojis and encouragement and seemingly.. with ease.
“I cannot remember how he responded verbatim but I’m sure it was quotable whatever he said,” Ocean continued. “He was always quotable. But the gist of his response was that he was interested in living and living to the maximum extent of his level… which proved to be Impossible today because he was BEYOND.”
Meanwhile, Drake posted photos of himself and Abloh along with the caption, “My plan is to touch the sky 1000 times for you”. Additionally, Kevin Abstract wrote, “One of the most important artists of our times. Changed our culture forever. I am heartbroken.”
Kanye West also covered Adele’s ‘Easy On Me’ during his Sunday Service, which he dedicated to his late friend.