Virgil Abloh: Biography in Details
Who is Virgil Abloh?
Virgil Abloh was renowned as an American designer, entrepreneur, and DJ.
The designer is better known as the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s wear collection.
Furthermore, he was the CEO of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house established in 2012.
Virgil Abloh: Age, Family, Siblings, Ethnicity, Education
Virgil was born on September 30, 1980, in Rockford, Illinois. He was of American citizenship and belongs to Ewe descent of the Volta region in Ghana.
He was born to his father Nee Abloh and Eunice Abloh. They basically came to the United States from Ghana.
His father served as a manager of a paint company whereas his mother was a seamstress. He has a sister named Edwina Abloh.
Death
Abloh was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma, a type of cancer, though he kept the diagnosis private in 2019. At the age of 41, he died on November 28, 2021, in Chicago.
On December 6, 2021, his private funeral took place in Chicago, with Drake, Rihanna, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kid Cudi, Tyler, the Creator, ASAP Rocky, Frank Ocean, Vic Mensa, Lauryn Hill, Don C, and Jerry Lorenzo in attendance amongst his family and other close friends.
Education & Early Life
Virgil Abloh attended Boylan Catholic High School and graduated in 1998.
Then, he joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a degree in civil engineering in 2002.
Similarly, he earned a Master of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2006.
While attending IIT, he designed a t-shirt and also wrote a blog, The Brilliance.
Virgil Abloh: Professional Life, Career
Fashion & Entrepreneur Career
After graduation, Virgil Abloh interned at Fendi in 2009 where he met rapper Kanye West.
Then, they began a collaborative relationship and starts making several stunning creations that caught the eyes of the Louis Vuitton CEO, Michael Burke.
The following year, West hired Abloh as the creative director of his label and also named him the artistic designer for his album’s cover, Watch the Throne which was released in 2011.
In 2012, Abloh started his first company, Pyrex Vision. A year later, he closed the company as he did not intend it to be a commercial enterprise but as an artistic experiment.
Then, he founded his first fashion house and second business, Off-White a multi-platform creative endeavor based in Milan in 2013.
After that, he lunches his men’s and women’s collections at the 2014 Paris Fashion Week.
In the same year, he was listed as a finalist for the LYMH Prize but hasn’t won the grand prize.
On March 25, 2018, Abloh was named the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection.
Virgil Abloh showed his first collection for Louis Vuitton at the 2018 Men’s Fashion Week at the Palais-Royal gardens in Paris.
Since then, he had been in high demand for his designs, creating an original outfit designed.
Also, his artworks have been a subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Similarly, he was appointed to the board of directors of The Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2019.
DJ Career
Abloh interested in DJing since his teens. He has played at Hi Ibiza and Tomorrowland.
In January 2018, he released his first single ‘Orvnge’ with German DJ/producer Boys Noize.
In May 2019, he collaborate with Pioneer, a maker of DJ consoles in the design of its transparent CDJ-2000NXS2 and DJM-900NXS2 models.
He has also designed the original cover for Pop Smoke‘s album, Shoots for the Stars, Aim for the Moon released in June 2020.
Awards, Achievements
- Abloh was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the album, Watch the Throne.
- In 2017, he won the ‘Urban Luxe prize at the British Fashion Awards.
- In the same year, he was named International Designer of the year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.
- He was also listed in Time Magazine’s ‘Top 100 most influential People of the world.
Rumors, Controversy
In mid-2020, Abloh faced criticism during the George Floyd Protests after he posted a screenshot showing that he had made only a $50 donation to a community bond fund for arrested protesters in Miami, Florida on his social media.
Virgil Abloh: Net Worth, Salary
As of 2021, Virgil Abloh had an estimated net worth of $100 million throughout his multiple profession.
His annual salary was around $3 million per year through Louis Vuitton.
Aside from that, he earned a good amount of fortune and added to his net worth through his other profession as an artist, and DJ.
Body Measurement: Height, Weight
The designer stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 85 kg.
Virgil Abloh had a black pair of eyes color and black hair but he preferred to keep his hair shaved.
Social Media
Virgil Abloh was active on Instagram with more than 5.9m followers.
Likely, he had more than 499.2k followers on his Twitter account.
He was also active on Facebook with more than 22k followers.
Trivia
- As of 2021, Virgil was 41 years old.
- His Sun sign is Libra.
- Virgil was also named the first American of African descent to be artistic director at a French Luxury fashion house.
Virgil Abloh’s Birthday Dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | September | Monday |
| 2025 | September | Tuesday |
| 2026 | September | Wednesday |
| 2027 | September | Thursday |
| 2028 | September | Saturday |