How Virgil Abloh Became a Streetwear Legend
How Virgil Abloh Became a Streetwear Legend
Song of the week: Sauce Walka & Daringer: I’m Him
No drums, all bars. My favorite song right now and I encourage you to listen.
And now for today’s essay…
Paris Fashion Week just passed, and everyone from Pharrell to J. Lo was in attendance to show see the next season’s latest and greatest styles.
In the midst of that, it got me thinking about Virgil Abloh, which led to an insight of sorts:
A lot of people in our industry KNOW about Virgil Abloh, but not many people KNOW HOW he became the icon.
I mean, sure, they may know the name Off-White, but Virgil’s journey before that is equally if not of greater importance.
And, naturally it has roots in Hip-Hop culture.
I suspect that many marketers will name drop him or his brand Off-White when rattling off about Gen Z’s interests, and I think it’s necessary to know his history if we’re gonna invoke his name. It makes the creative waaay better IMO.
So, y’all know the vibes. Let’s talk about it.
“BACKGROUND”
Virgil Abloh was born on September 30, 1980, in Rockford, Illinois as the son of Ghanaian immigrants who migrated to the U.S. for a better life.
He graduated from Boylan Catholic High School, and wanted to attend college for a degree in Civil Engineering — one that he ended up getting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
During his undergrad years (around 2002, to exact), Virgil ended up meeting Kanye West. This was before his first album and the two remained acquaintances over the years.
Shortly after getting his under grad degree, Virgil applied to the University of Illinois Master's program in Architecture & while there he started to develop an interest in fashion.
At the same time, his relationship with Ye eventually led to him designing merch for the “Glow In The Dark” tour that West was embarking on and becoming his personal stylist & creative director.
Years later, after Ye would essentially be exiled from the entertainment biz because of what happened with Taylor Swift. Upon leaving the U.S. Virgil went along with him, and the two ended up interning together at Fendi.
After traversing through Europe, and appearing together at Paris Fashion Week in 2009, Virgil began to solidify himself in the world of fashion, and his career began to take shape.
“Donda”
Virgil’s relationship with Kanye was the launchpoint of his career, and in 2010, he officially became the head Creative at Ye’s company Donda.1
For the Hip-hop heads out here, you’ll recognize that this was in the height of the G.O.O.D. Music. era
In the year to follow, most of the album art from Kanye West and various other artists was supplied by Virgil Abloh, and his creative partners like Jerry Lorenzo.
808s & Heartbreak cover? Virgil.
The Watch The Throne Cover? Virgil.
Dark Twisted Fantasy? Yep, that was Virgil.
Virgil was quite literally changing the cultural landscape in real time.
Hip-hop fans were seeing High fashion find its way into everything from the fashion to the sound, and it was in large part because of the years Virgil spent at Donda creating the work that came about between 2009-2012.
Building on that momentum, Virgil wanted to launch a new creative project incorporating all of the lessons he learned so far.
This time, it was a clothing line. That line would effectively kick off a new era in streetwear.
It was called… Pyrex Vision.
“Pyrex Vision”
Pyrex stirs turned into Cavali furs - Pusha T
Virgil founded Pyrex in 2012.
The name was a callback to a Pusha T line on The Clipse song “Mr. Me Too.” referencing the infamous pyrex jars that drug dealers use to cook up their products.
As for the first run of Pyrex clothing, the story is that Virgil launched Pyrex by buying a ton of flannel shirts from Ralph Lauren — ones on clearance and screenprinting “Pyrex 23” on the back of the shirts.
He subsequently marked up the shirts by 700%, and they all sold out.
In fact, Virgil’s cousin still has the original promo video for Pyrex Vision on his YouTube page (seen below).
The shirts have Pyrex printed on the back above the number 23, which paid homage to Virgil’s favorite athlete (and fellow Chicago legend), Michael Jordan.
With Virgil’s connections to the stars, and the custom pieces he was giving them being seen on the biggest stages in the world, it became highly sought after.
Moreover, it was clear that you had to be connected or a “somebody” to get your hands on Pyrex gear.
After a while, regular people could buy it from boutiques and it created a lasting effect that changed the conversation around what fashion could be.
But that was only the beginning. So much more was about to happen.
“OFF-WHITE”
Pyrex Vision had become a massive symbol in culture, but that meant it would started attract unwanted attention too. In this instance, Virgil’s streetwear line caught the actual Pyrex brand.
You can probably guess what happened when the esteemed Pyrex brand found out someone had been using their name to promote a streetwear brand…
They were likely about to sue.
Virgil was feeling the pressure from Pyrex, and decided it was time for a pivot.
According to A$AP Rocky, one of the members of A$AP Mob (A$AP Twelvy), suggested that Virgil change the name of Pyrex Vision to Off-White in an effort to keep it close to the name. After all, that’s what it looks like in the pyrex pot after you cook it — it’s Off-White.
The first Off-White collection became available in 2014.
As for the logo?
Virgil drew inspo from Glasgow’s airport, its arrow system, and its influence can be seen on in the original collection of Off-White apparel.
“NIKE”
In 2017, Nike tapped Virgil for a partnership that eventually came to be known as “The Ten”.
For the collection, Virgil remixed 10 of the most iconic Nike (and Converse) Silhouettes by applying his design principles to everything from the Jordan One to the Nike Presto.
The collection was divided by two themes:
REVEALING: This pack included the Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air Presto, Nike Air VaporMax and the Nike Blazer Mid. According to Nike, these shoes were designed to look “accessible” which they describe as hand-cut, open-source and reconstructed.
GHOSTING: This pack included the Converse Chuck Taylor, the Nike Zoom Fly, the Nike React Hyperdunk 2017, the Nike Air Max 97 and the Nike Air Force 1 Low. According to Nike these shoes had more of the “translucent” color, and revealing/uniting the silhouette through common materials. 2
To date, the shoes go for thousands in the secondary markets, and Nike’s partnership with Off-White continues to flourish today with new releases and the occasional restock of fan favorites via the SNKRS app.
“Louis Vuitton”
Following the rise of Off-White and the Nike collaborations, Virgil soon courted the attention of LVMH.
Bernard Arnault had been following him for some time, and as he continued to build the LVMH empire, he extended an offer to Virgl to Join Louis Vuitton.
Virgil’s longtime fashion friend, Kim Jones, had just left Louis Vuitton , and it made a ton of sense for them to approach Virgil.
The Louis Vuitton offer would make him the first Black creative director in the company’s history. Needless to say, Virgil accepted and changed the course of history.
In 2018, Virgil would host his first fashion show with Louis Vuitton and the culture rejoiced at seeing him (and us) reaching new heights.
His partnership with Louis Vuitton, and its parent company LVMH strengthened the following when they purchased a 60% stake in Off-White from him.
“BRAND”
Hip-hop always knew how talented Virgil was, but 2017 proved to be the first of many breakthrough years when you look at the sheer number of brand activations he did that years.
Off-White was always popular in the world of streetwear, but that year it became sought after; so much so that at its height Virgil worked with like IKEA, Moncler, Levi’s and many more.3
Even after his passing, brands across different categories have partnered with his estate in an effort to attract Gen Z & streetwear enthusiasts alike.
Some of the best collabs include:
A. IKEA: MARKERAD
In 2018, IKEA reached out ot Virgil to design a collection of furniture
The connection incorporated Virgil’s design principles including tape, and quotations and was even affordably priced so that everyday consumers could finally get their hands coveted work from Abloh.
B. Evian: Activate Movement
Virgil Abloh's collaboration with Evian, launched in 2018, marked his foray into sustainable design.
As Evian's Creative Advisor for Sustainable Innovation Design, Abloh focused on promoting sustainability and eco-consciousness. He designed a limited edition glass water bottle featuring his signature quotation marks, emphasizing both style and environmental responsibility.
C. Mercedes Benz x Project Maybach
Mercedes made waves on social media last year when they announced a limited run of Maybach’s that were designed by Virgil Abloh.
“ENDING”
“I told Virgil write brick on my brick” - Westside Gunn
Virgil’s work and presence continue to inspire generations of young creatives out there (myself included).
His design principles, sneakers, and contributions to Hip-hop make the culture what it is today, so if you’ve never known about the backstory of his ascent, hopefully this filled in the blanks.
In the years to come, more brands will likely turn to his work as a source of inspo, and personally I’m waiting for his work to appear in museums again.
In the meantime, I’ll opt for the books on his work.
Gonna stack some bread this spring and cop some Off-White for the Summer.
One.