Virgil Abloh – From the mediocre “engineer” to the greatest designer

Virgil Abloh Currently being a name that is being mentioned quite a lot in the fashion industry. And brands, from high fashion to streetwear, always want the opportunity to work with, like Nike, Levi’s and even IKEA, well embedded. And after a period of fighting, Louis Vuitton has chosen to send Virgil Abloh gold for that position Kim Jones has left.

Founder of OFF-WHITE is one of the most respected creators in today’s frivolous fashion and, especially, the starting point of Virgil barely resembling his current counterparts. Cooperation with famous retailers such as Barneys until Collette together contribute to making Off-White more known and the value of items from this brand also skyrocketed. And that also helps Virgil Abloh catch the eye of a high fashion brand like Louis Vuitton. So what helped Virgil Reaping the successes of today?

Born and raised in Chicago under the caring hands of a couple from Ghana, Virgil Since childhood, it has been influenced by massive architectural works with diverse cultures in the 3rd largest city in America. However, he is quite private about his personal matters, so his information is rarely disclosed. One of the rare word information Virgil He has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering from the school Wincosin University- Madison and then a master’s degree in residential architecture Illinouis Institute of Technology. Besides, he was also married in 2009 and his 3-year-old daughter is Virgil’s greatest inspiration. His starting point is a rather special detail that reminds me of another genius. Tinker Hatfield, the witch’s Nike, who used to have a bachelor’s degree in architecture at the school Oregon Architecture University. Virgil’s designs have always been influenced by Rem Koolhaas, A famous architect from the Netherlands who has worked with Prada to set up their spectacular runway shops and floors.

In addition to his passion for architecture and design activities, Virgil is also known by young people as a DJ under the name Flat White. He has been a DJ since his ambitious teenage days, attending high school and college parties to cheer up with his songs. Benji B, A-Trak good Gilles Peterson which he rewrote. For Virgil, A-Trak was the biggest idol, then he started moving to Gilles Peterson and Benji B. He even listened to Benji B’s music for 12 years, once a week. “They are a great inspiration as well as a part of my life.” Virgil told Billboard like that in an interview.

Virgil’s career has always been associated with “expert hype” Kanye West, Although the reason for the acquaintance is still unknown. Kanye and Virgil’s working relationship officially started in 2003. It is rumored that, Virgil had to “cut off” a session to meet Kanye’s manager to discuss becoming a member of the creative team. of the Yeezy. As a consultant and designer, the two have been consistently successful, for example the album cover photo. Watch The Throne (designed by Virgil and Ricardo Tisci) has been nominated for the award Best Album Cover at the tournament Grammy.

Not only that, the majority of the show’s stage Yeezus Tour Or the lighting system at Kanye’s recent concerts has magic coming from Abloh’s hand. In addition, 2 collections came from Yeezy Season there was also Virgil’s intervention. Moreover, Kanye and Virgil also worked together to develop a brand called Pastelle, Although they have not officially released any products, the famous French retailer is collete used to sell products from the project of both.

However, having a talented friend like Kanye also brought a lot of obstacles to Virgil’s personal development when there was little information about him during this period. This is the main reason why it is hindering the search for Virgil’s data before this time Pyrex Vision appear.

Pyrex Vision (2012) is an important milestone in his design life. Brand is a combination of a designer Shayne Oliver, the founder of HOOD BY AIR (HBA) and now is “designer in residence” of Helmut Lang. Their designs are all magnetic t-shirts Champion or even the word flannel rugby Ralph Laurent, they are then printed with the number 23 (the symbol’s number Michael Jordan) with Pyrex on the back, and it sells for 10 times the original amount. However, Virgil has also spoken out about this when Pyrex is just his brand testing the market. Perhaps for that reason, Pyrex Vision only existed for only 1 year. And that was when his life turned a new page.

In 2013, with clearer directions for personal branding, Virgil Abloh joined hands with New Guard Group come from Italy to be officially launched OFF-WHITE. This project continues what Pyrex did, but only later did they receive popularity from streetwear enthusiasts and OFF-WHITE products are sold at floating retailers. the most famous sound on earth. When asked about the name OFF-WHITE at a presentation, Virgil said, ‘I’m a black kid and I want to confirm to white kids that I am something in between White colors. – Black so the name OFF-WHITE was created based on the idea that Gray is not symbolic and related to Black and White ”. As for the famous diagonal striped symbol, it is inspired by the “cross-road” symbols that we can see in any country, the symbol that according to Virgil: is something that can communicate with anyone in the world. even though they don’t use the same language ”. This image is OFF-WHITE’s unique motif, similar to the monogram’s motifs Louis Vuitton or the beautiful colors of Gucci.

It seems that this new start will receive a lot of support, but there are many opinions that the items from OFF-WHITE are just recycled from the ruins of the previous project because of similarities to from products. Although not really disruptive in design in the early days with cross-pattern prints, these symbols have become a distinctive feature that takes OFF-WHITE to a new level in the future. And this transformation really only happens when Virgil Abloh take part in a talent contest for young designers of the corporation LVMHThe corporation holds many of the largest and most expensive brands on the planet. Virgil approaches the fashion world with a whole new mindset that is conveyed throughout all of his collections: “Japanese quality, New York’s soul, and perfected by hand. of the Italian “artisans”.

Virgil Abloh Still constantly improving and refreshing their designs while improving the shortcomings they still have. His acumen has helped him rise higher as a designer, and success also smiled when Virgil was selected and became the last 5 in the prestigious competition of LVMH with a series of disruptive collections after that, in addition he is also on the top 500 list of influential people in the fashion industry of Business Of Fashion.

Virgil Abloh also has an admiration for the world’s leading streetwear brand Supreme. Recognizing the lack of a young design class in the combination of streetwear and high-end fashion, Virgil stood out and pioneered the combination through her first collection.

In a period of five years, from someone who was always under the shadow of Kanye West, Virgil Abloh has grown to become one of the most famous fashion designers today. His products are always on the shelves of the most famous stores and OFF-WHITE, still considered a “kid” in the fashion industry, has appeared in cities such as Paris and Florence with its own values, it has made a difference compared with the majority of streetwear brands are “disoriented” nowadays.

As for the recent Nike partnership it’s an extremely valuable collab, by any measure. But there are a few factors that make Virgil’s imprints so dramatic. First, we need to note that the breakup between Kanye and Nike stems from the refusal of the sportswear giant to grant Yeezy creative freedom. And with this latest collaboration, Abloh has accomplished something Kanye was unable to do when Kanye used to do with Nike – the application of her own identities and identities to shoes. Nike logo, using their design as the basis for its own creations.

The reason Virgil received The Swoosh’s nod in creative freedom was because he was a master at modern fashion marketing. He appeared at a time when fashion designers were beginning to receive acclaim from the public as music stars (at least in the mainstream music market today) for their designs. their. He understands that social media today has made consumers increasingly view fashion brands and designers as one and he is giving an invitation to those “behind” to cooperate with him on upcoming projects.

As we have seen the designs come from the Hedi Slimane while in position Saint Laurent good Alessandro Michele in Gucci good Demna Gvasalia in Belenciaga We’re in the golden age of re-inventing famous fashion brands in history. A design coming from a reputable brand must ensure elegantly balanced standards and must have contemporary features as well as the designer’s personal grace mark in it.

Similar partnership between Virgil and Nike, he clearly knows how to integrate himself and his mark on the worldview of other brands, and uses established rules. created in unique and interesting ways. Though there are doubts about plagiarism from other designers, especially Raf Simons. However, Virgil did not pay attention to them but continued to plunge into his ambitions by overcoming every limit that the pioneers had set. One example is the majority of works of Demna Gvasalia with Vetements, such as remodeled denim jeans or high heels (with lighter heels), is a continuation of techniques pioneered years ago by Maison Margiela (Demna used to work here).

The fashion world is known for its distinct hierarchy, and to outsiders it seems impossible to reach the top. But changes seem to be starting to appear and he is holding the brightest torch in his hand to light the way for the younger generation. Besides aspirations, Virgil Abloh seemed to be a person who understood the difficulties more than anyone else.

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