The Death of Virgil Abloh

On November 28, 2021, famous entrepreneur and fashion designer of Off-White as well as the artist director of Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh passed away at 41-years-old in Chicago. Virgil Abloh started off by releasing his first company, Pyrex Vision in 2012. The clothing brand was marked to men who like streetwear clothes. He was able to do this through purchasing old stock produced by Ralph Lauren.

Abloh would sell his pieces for $500 to only stop doing so a year later. Pyrex Vision was the start of his success and soon, he started working with bigger brands and industries. According to The New York Times, “Mr. Abloh transformed not just what consumers wanted to wear, bridging hypebeast culture and the luxury world, but what brands wanted in a designer — and the meaning of “fashion” itself.

Virgil Abloh passed away due to a specific type of cancer called cardiac angiosarcoma. Cardiac Angiosarcoma occurs in the right atrium, proceeding in obstruction of the inflow or outflow of blood. While going through his experience with cancer, he hid it from the world. Abloh kept his sickness a secret so that he could stay focused in the industry he loved.

Regardless of going through something traumatic, he made it to where he could live normally and exactly the way he wanted before his passing. “Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,” his wife quoted him as saying in an Instagram post. He believed deeply, she wrote, “in the power of art to inspire future generations,” as stated by The New York Times. Abloh didn’t just do it for himself, but for his ride or die supporters and loved ones who inspired him to be where he was. 

Although, social media loves to picture things as perfect and utopia like, for most instances that isn’t the case. For Virgil Abloh, he would still go out of his way to keep up a busy schedule and work so that supporters could be happy as well.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and since then, Abloh went through many of life's challenging obstacles. Yet, he still showed up for his community. According to Ablohs Instagram, “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.”

Overall, Abloh was an influential figure who sparked many young individuals to start their own companies and brands. His life journey teaches one that going through something very traumatic makes somebody want to live their days as they wish. With life comes death, whether or not it is unexpected or vice versa. Taking it for granted is something many do and Abloh's life sheds how significant it is to live your life for yourself.