Meet The Coolest Man In Fashion

Virgil Abloh’s modern vision of luxury is opening doors to a new generation. Get to know Louis Vuitton’s newest menswear artistic director, here.

- Olivia Singer

Virgil Abloh is an exceptionally busy man. On the day we meet, he has flown into London directly from an event in New York with contemporary artist Jeff Koons, his luggage in tow. Before he leaves, less than 20 hours later, he will be mobbed by fans at a magazine signing, receive a Fashion Award and host a stickle floored after party. He is leaving town at 7am and heading straight to Art Basel, Miami’s celeb-filled art fair, where his itinerary includes launching a T-shirt collaboration with artist Jenny Holzer, playing a rugby game with rapper Skepta and performing on stage with Drake. He is nothing if not prolific.

It is this tireless drive that marked Virgil’s ascent as a fashion designer. In 2014 he founded Off-White, a label that bridges the gap between streetwear and luxury, and it quickly earnt a cult following. Last year, he released a 10-piece collab with Nike, and he has an exhibition, Virgil Abloh, showing at the Museum of Contemporary Art until September. Meanwhile, women from Beyoncé to Gigi Hadid are proud ambassadresses for his designs. “Who is Virgil Abloh?” asked a recent headline. “GOAT” replied Rihanna on Instagram. Translated: Greatest Of All Time.

Unusually, considering the scale of his success, Virgil has no formal fashion training: he studied civil engineering (“My dad is a Ghanaian immigrant, and he wanted a son who was an engineer.”) then architecture, before graduating to work at a small architecture firm. It was during this period that he orchestrated an introduction to Kanye West and promptly started consulting on his creative projects. “I was like a young intern turned art director,” he says. “Travelling around the world but always coming back to my day job.” Virgil’s brand may be a calculated success, but he is remarkably cool when he speaks about how he got here.