Virgil Abloh was a cultural innovator; a trailblazing multi-hyphenate creative who held the door open for so many others and against all odds, infiltrated the impenetrable high fashion world, forever altering its course. As the former appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear from 2018 until his passing on November 28 of last year, Abloh was the first Black person to helm the house, and he did so with peerless grace, altruistically driven by inclusivity, diversity and empowerment. Now, the Off-White founder is immortalised in the first feature book from Louis Vuitton and Assouline to capture his endless, effervescent spirit.
Written by Anders Christian Madsen, a close companion and collaborator of Abloh’s – and a regular 10 Magazine contributor – the text serves as an intimate portrait of the maverick man and a heartfelt testament to how he managed to modify the course of fashion history.
Virgil orchestrated eight shows over the course of his tenure, so fittingly, the book is split into eight enchanting chapters – one for each of his eight LV menswear shows. With a simple flick of the first page, prepare to indulge in over 320 iconic images and personal reflections from Virgil’s inner circle. Contributors include Nigo, Naomi Campbell, Luka Sabbat, Kendall Jenner, and Kid Cudi.
The title is also accompanied by comprehensive captions that allow the reader to contextualise each and every stage of Abloh’s story – personal and professional – and is interspersed with sagacious “Abloh-isms”. And for all the sneaker heads out there, you’ll find a complete catalogue of his extensive sneaker collection there within. From his first campaign for the maison with Inez & Vinoodh, to Abloh’s absolute mastery of the limited-edition, three-dimensional objet d’art invitations that Louis Vuitton loves to endow, this is the legacy he leaves behind anthologised in one place.
There are two collectable covers to choose from, too; one taken from the Louis Vuitton’s spring/summer 2022 spinoff show in Miami, with an striking image of a red Louis Vuitton hot air balloon. The other is a sporty cartoon artwork by Reggieknow who illustrated the outlandish characters that popped up in Virgil’s spring-summer 2021 show via a short video called The Adventures of Zoooom with Friends, and became the first Black artist Louis Vuitton ever collaborated with on the runway. Or, you can cop a copy in an Ultimate Collection package, which is just as sweeping as it sounds. In fact, it has a special, separate insert that serves as a treasury of every single sneaker Virgil designed for Louis Vuitton.
Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton. Buy “Louis Vuitton: Virgil Abloh” here.
