Washington, Nov 29: Fashion designer Virgil Abloh, the Louis Vuitton artistic director, died on Sunday after battling cancer since 2019.
The US designer, 41, had gained prominence as Kanye West’s creative director but made history as the first African-American leading Louis Vuitton.
According to a BBC report, the French fashion house’s parent company LVMH described Abloh as a “genius” and a “visionary”.
He was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma in 2019 but did not announce the news publicly.
According to a statement posted on his Instagram account, “He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art and culture.
“Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity and optimism never wavered.”
He was also the founder of the Off-White fashion label, a DJ and an artist. He also had degrees in civil engineering and architecture.
BBC quoted LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault as saying, “Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom.
“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.”
