On the last night of November, drone lights scattered across the Miami sky with the words ‘Virgil was here’ as thousands raised their eyes to remember and salute a designer whose contributions to fashion were far ahead, well , the field of fashion and culture strongly. Louis Vuitton showed off Virgil Abloh’s Spring-Summer 2022 menswear collection for both the fashion community and the Virgil community — which includes art, music, the entire Internet — gathered for one last time for the person they loved.
Read also | Thanks, Virgil Abloho
I’m actually more affected by Abloh’s passing than I should be, given that I have no strong personal connection to him, his designs, or indeed the brands he operates. Maybe it’s because his great power, and what Abloh stood for after all, was a possibility. He opened doors that have been locked for as long as any of us can remember. She created a path for black kids like herself with big dreams and endless ambition, and showed them that it could be done.
He was showing the world, yes, but it always seemed like he was showing the kids.
Everyone who speaks of Abloh speaks of his unwavering optimism, his kindness and compassion, his generosity and warmth – qualities unusual in fashion. After his passing, social media was flooded with stories of helping his community, giving back, encouraging, mentoring and mentoring young people. after reading a story in the trend About a group of young skaters in Ghana, Abloh quietly reached out to a reporter to help build a skatepark, which was completed this year. He regularly raised funds for organizations working toward reducing poverty and gun violence. Last year, he raised $1 million to launch his Post-Modern Scholarship Fund for Black students, to help level the playing field.
Designs from Abloh’s Spring-Summer 2022 Menswear Collection
Several Virgil Abloh quotes have been referenced over the past few days. One of my favorites is where he talks about his brand Off-White: “It’s targeted toward the demographic that can afford it. But for the demographic that can’t afford it, that means You start a competing brand that’s better than Off-White.” And perhaps the most striking thing about Abloh was that he’d happily help you do it.
Aishwarya Subramaniam is a journalist and former editor allie magazine,
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