Despite being part of his inner circle since 2002, Virgil Abloh is notoriously mysterious when it comes to speaking about his professional and personal relationship with Kanye West. In a recent interview with The New York Times, however, Abloh revealed he believes Kanye to be “the greatest designer that has yet to be seen.”
There are a number of other interesting quips in the interview, including the revelation that Abloh’s favorite word is “vibes,” which he uses to describe anything he’s into. He also talks about the inspiration behind his label Off-White, saying we are in “the era of Tommy Ton street style” and “the age of self-styling,” and that Off-White is specifically meant for those who appreciate the high-low mix of fashion and street: “Girls wearing Céline and their boyfriend’s Air Force Ones. My premise is to create a brand that’s immersed in this young fashion customer.
While Kanye has had successful collaborations with A.P.C. and is currently at work on his highly anticipated adidas collection, his 2011 womenswear collection was met with lukewarm reviews and not actually produced for sale. Abloh says that misstep was merely a blip in what is undoubtedly going to be a lasting career: “His fashion story is long. We’re on the verge of seeing what an overwhelming success it will be.”
Kanye also contributed a quote to the article, saying through his spokeswoman that “Virgil is one of the smartest, fastest, most innovative people I’ve created with.”
Check out the full interview here.
[via New York Times]
