Prior to his passing in 2021 at the age of 41, Virgil Abloh was often referred to as the most significant fashion designer of his generation. Not quite the most proficient—far from it. Even during his tenure at Louis Vuitton, where he set a precedent as the pioneering Black designer to lead the house's men's collection in 2018, he favored T-shirt designs over custom cuts. But as a pop-culture-obsessed versatile artist who approached fashion with a youthful zeal, his high-low take on streetwear sought to democratize the exclusive world of fashion to aspiring creatives like him who had long been excluded, whether he was imprinting his vision on premium handbags or £8,000 bags.
Multidisciplinary artist … portrait of Virgil Abloh.
The magnitude of his influence on design can't quantified in tangible goods, but Abloh's archive show, the inaugural showcase focused exclusively to the deceased fashion designer's vast 20,000-item archive, demonstrates that he was as much a voracious collector of artifacts—the so-called codes—as he was a creator of them.
Arranged by Abloh's collaborators Chloe and Mahfuz Sultan along with his surviving spouse, Shannon, this dual-floor exhibition uses his personal effects to document his evolution from the child of Ghanaian immigrants in Illinois to designer, visual artist, DJ, and eventually one of the leading designers in the world.
The setup is like a flea market. Stacks of neatly arranged Off-White T-shirts and Nike trainer collaborations are displayed next to paintbrushes, scissors, and old computers. A pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s have been turned inside out, while one of his luxury accessories imprinted with the word “sculpture” (inverted commas were one of his trademark elements) rests alone on a stand.
The more engaging exhibits include his studio at Louis Vuitton (he famously referred to his phone as his desk) and a life-sized DJ booth; proof of his broad influence, maturing in Illinois in the millennial era, his DJ name back then was Flat White.
The labeling is limited, and while some of the more enigmatic additions—various USB sticks and music compilations in showcases—will only resonate to his diehard fans, it is a intriguing glimpse into the thought process of a Gen Y individual developing in a consumer society before TikTok.
Overwhelming … a selection of objects on display at this retrospective.
At times it can feel excessive, but the systematic layout is also how Abloh functioned. He would record his discussions with journalists on recordings which he preserved in order to revisit and analyze as his work progressed. The tapes are presumably among the remaining objects still in reserve which—based on the turnout and lines outside—will almost certainly see the light of day in later installations.
Abloh's period at Louis Vuitton was very successful but it was his partnerships with international labels which went beyond the allure of his fashion design, handling each item—a luxury luggage, a sneaker, the previously mentioned Evian bottles—as if he was remixing a song. This stemmed from his “3% approach”—the idea that you could develop a new design by modifying an base by just 3%.
Launching for just 10 days during Paris fashion week at the iconic location—exclusive access was a classic Virgil strategy—the timed queues outside on its opening day indicate it wasn't simply the hottest ticket in town, but that it was unthinkable to think that Abloh's legacy would simply disappear from the industry's momentum after his death.
