R.I.P., Virgil Abloh. Waking up, the fashion world welcomes the most tragic and difficult news to accept, Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton men’s creative director Virgil Abloh passed away on November 28 due to heart angiosarcoma, at the age of 41.
Virgil Abloh’s sudden departure has broken the hearts of the entire fashion industry. Hall-of-fame designers who knew him well, as well as celebrities and supermodels who collaborated closely with him, all posted tributes to mourn Virgil. They shared a large number of previously unreleased photos, reminiscing about the happy times and bidding farewell to this talented fashion designer.
As the owner of Virgil Abloh, LVMH Group Chairman Bernard Arnault mourned through Louis Vuitton’s official IG post. In the post, Bernard Arnault expressed his sudden departure from Virgil and praised him for not only being a genius designer but also having a beautiful soul and wisdom.
At the beginning of this month, Natalia Vodianova, the Princess of the LVMH Group, who only appeared in public with Virgil, also posted on IG expressing disbelief at the departure of her good friend. Virgil’s good friend and “colleague,” Kim Jones, the design director of Dior Men, also publicly shared a photo of him and Virgil as “brothers,” reminiscing about their time working and spending time together privately.
Apart from the boss and colleagues, a group of fashion designers have also expressed their sadness, including Maria Grazia Chiuri, Alessandro Michele, Marc Jacobs, Donatella Versace, Simon Porte Jacquemus, and many more. Almost every iconic designer and major luxury brand are reminiscing about this colleague who was loved and hated by everyone.
What is most heart-wrenching is the fashion supermodels who have collaborated closely with Virgil Abloh for many years also penned heartfelt tributes. Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Hailey Bieber, who wore a wedding dress designed by Virgil Abloh himself, all posted lengthy messages of deep mourning. In her post, Gigi Hadid even mentioned that she can only imagine Virgil now transforming into the iconic cartoon character Mickey Mouse, who will forever accompany everyone and bring joy, and she wrote, “See you somewhere soon,” expressing her deep sorrow and heartache for her old friend, making it a tear-jerking moment.
