Vigil Abloh, designer and DJ, has died. The creative director of Louis Vuitton Men’s and Off-White had been battling an aggressive form of cancer—cardiac angiosarcoma. He had just turned 41 on Sept. 30.
News of his passing was released on his official Instagram account:
According to the post, the designer battled the rare form of cancer for two years after being diagnosed in 2019. Even while sick, he still spearheaded a number of fashion, art, and cultural projects, including a partnership with Mercedes-Benz, multiple Air Jordan collaborations, and a new travel campaign for Louis Vuitton.
“He often said, ‘Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,’ believing deeply in the power of art to inspire future generations,” the IG post reads. In 2018, he did the unthinkable when he became the first person of African descent to helm Louis Vuitton’s menswear line.
Abloh is survived by his wife Shannon, his children Lowe and Grey, his sister Edwina, and his parents Nee and Eunice.
Most recently, Abloh became one of the most successful and high-ranking Black executives in the fashion and luxury markets with LVMH’s acquisition of Off-White.
The luxury conglomerate also released an official statement on Abloh’s passing. “We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom,” Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, said. “The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend.”
