The Man Reinventing Fashion

The rise of the world’s most influential designer, Virgil Abloh

- Fatma Abusief

What do a DJ, fashion designer, and civil engineer with a Master of Architecture all have in common? Seemingly nothing, but these are all facets that makeup Virgil Abloh, the designer who is leading the current fashion revolution and reinventing luxury menswear as we know it. With just 10 years of fashion experience under his belt, Virgil has become one of the most important and sought-after designers in the world. With his own fashion label that has become a streetwear staple around the world, and an impressive client list that includes Beyoncé, Drake and Rihanna, Virgil is here to stay. So how is it that the American designer has become such a massive force in the fashion industry? It all started with an internship at one of Italy’s biggest fashion houses.

Virgil, an engineering graduate, first entered the world of fashion in 2009 as an intern at Fendi, along with American rapper Kanye West. Working in the fashion house’s Rome headquarters, the two began a collaborative relationship, which led to Kanye hiring Virgil as the creative director of his creative agency DONDA, a year later. Virgil’s relationship with the rapper spawned another project, which saw him serve as the artistic director for the 2011 Jay-Z/Kanye West album Watch the Throne.

The year 2012 proved to be a transformative one for the designer, who founded his first company, Pyrex Vision, with a small collection of couture streetwear. He referred to the business as an artistic experiment, purchasing deadstock clothing from American label Ralph Lauren for $40 a piece, screen-printing designs onto them, and then selling each item for upwards of $500.