Virgil Abloh’s Last Show for Louis Vuitton Was a Beautiful Memorial and Celebration of His Life
Virgil Abloh, 41, founder of Off-White and artistic director of menswear for Louis Vuitton, passed away after a private battle with cardiac angiosarcoma.
His passing was announced on his Instagram with a photo of him with a colorful background and a description of his diagnosis.
The French fashion house continued with the scheduled event during Art Basel to honor the late designer.
During Miami’s Art Basel week his life was celebrated during the staging of Louis Vuitton’s spring 2022 men’s collection.
The collection showcased marked the very final designs from Abloh himself.
Abloh’s vision for the men’s spring collection drew inspiration from the idea of “boyhood.” He wanted to redefine men’s fashion.
The event took place in a private location across from Miamis Marine Stadium, with more than 1,000 guests.
Hailey Bieber shared on Instagram an image of her and Abloh in her wedding dress that he designed and in her caption expressed how grateful she was to have known him.
Celebrity guests sat in the front row, such as Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, Bella Hadid, Pharrell Williams. Ricky Martin, Rauw Alejandro, 21 Savage, and Venus Williams.
The show kicked off with an audio message from Abloh as he discussed the creative process and idea of “returning to his place of childlike wonder and curiosity” throughout his work.
The brand’s Chief executive, Michael Burke, gave a short and emotional speech. “Like all of you, Virgil’s passing remains inconceivable to me,” he said. “He was born the same year as my oldest child, and I considered him like a son.”
Throughout the show, there was a red hot air balloon stamped with the “LV” logo, sculptures that filled the space, such as a black paper airplane and a three-story figure of the late designer.
During the 18-minute show, Abloh’s voice filled the stadium: “Life is so short that you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do, versus knowing what you can do.”
The closing of the show featured a captivating display of lights that illuminated the stadium in rainbow colors and huge fireworks lit the sky to honor the life and contributions of Abloh.
Drones in the sky arranged and illustrated motifs, like paper airplanes, palm trees, Ablohs initials, and the phrase and title of the show “Virgil Was Here.”
The full show can be watched here:
