Texas style expert reflects on Virgil Abloh’s legacy — ‘Symbol of a movement’
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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Summing up Virgil Abloh’s impact on the luxury fashion industry would be almost impossible, said Michelle Washington, an Austin-based TV style expert. But through his pioneering work as a leading black creative in the world of luxury men’s fashion, he has left an indelible mark on the field and emerging artists.
“He allowed black people to dream,” she said. “He has opened the door to dream again. And this was for a marginalized section of the community, where opportunity was or wasn’t. But here was Virgil, a breaker of glass ceilings. “
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Abloh was an American fashion designer best known for his work as the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collection and as the founder and CEO of the Off-White fashion house. He died on Sunday aged 41 after being diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma, a form of cancer, in 2019.
Abloh made history as the first black designer to take the helm as artistic director of a French luxury fashion house, Washington said. His designs helped modernize luxury menswear and carry it into the 21st century and beyond, she added.
“He was a symbol of a movement,” she said. “He was the zeitgeist of what we know as modern menswear designers – practically a pioneer in all of this, in a single period of his career.”
She praised the “visionary color” and craftsmanship that brought his designs to the Paris catwalks and for reimagining which designs could be successful and function at the luxury level.
Prior to his career in luxury fashion, Abloh earned degrees in civil engineering and architecture. These elements of his personal story, Washington said, played into the identity of his designs and his artistic eye for detail.
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“He came from another aspect of building and design and then he switched to fashion,” she said. “He could see things that other people couldn’t see because of his different backgrounds and perspectives in the creative field.”
For emerging creatives and black designers, Washington said his work left a monumental impact and rewrote the possibilities of what could be achieved. Combining his designs and artistic vision with his storied achievements as a black designer in luxury fashion, she said the legacy of his work will be felt for generations to come.
“Its mark on the luxury industry in fashion will not be erased,” she said. “It will be something that people will mark by the end of time based on what he could dream and achieve.”
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https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/symbol-of-a-movement-texas-style-expert-reflects-on-virgil-ablohs-legacy/