Virgil Abloh
Profile
Born in Rockford, Illinois in 1980 – Virgil Abloh is an artist, architect, engineer, creative director, and designer. After earning a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison, he completed a Master´s degree in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. It was here that he learned not only about design principles but also about the concept of collaborative working. He studied a curriculum devised by Mies van der Rohe on a campus he had designed.
He died on November 28, 2021, at the age of 41.
Accolades
Throughout Virgil Abloh’s career, his work has been awarded in the realm of art and design. Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™️ was first started in 2012 as an artwork titled “PYREX VISION”. In 2013, “Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™️” was introduced as a seasonal men’s and women’s fashion brand and additionally moved into the production of furniture designed by Virgil Abloh. Moving forward to 2015, Off-White™️ was nominated as one of the top eight finalists for the LVMH Prize in Paris.
The following year, in 2016 Virgil Abloh was inducted into the BOF 500 “The People Shaping The Global Fashion Industry” List. In the same year of 2016, he was nominated for one of the top five nominees in the category of International Urban Luxury Brand at The British Fashion Awards.
Then in 2017, Virgil Abloh was nominated as one of the top five nominees in the category of Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent at The CFDA Awards. Moving along, in 2017 Virgil Abloh was selected as a special guest to show his Spring Summer 2018 Men’s OFF-WHITE c/o VIRGIL ABLOH™️ Collection in Florence, Italy during Pitti Immagine Uomo 92. At the conclusion of 2017, Virgil Abloh won the International Designer of the Year Award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards. Additionally, Virgil Abloh’s NIKE “THE TEN” Air Jordan 1 won Shoe of the Year at the FN Achievement Awards. Lastly, Virgil Abloh won the Urban Luxe Brand Award at The British Fashion Awards.
Exhibitions
In 2016 Virgil Abloh launched his first furniture collection “Grey Area” (Milan, Italy).
At the end of 2016, Virgil Abloh curated an exhibition with the works (“free cubes”, “material table”, and “trivision sign”), from his furniture collection for Design Miami at Art Basel (Miami, Florida).
In 2017 Virgil Abloh worked with Ben Kelly on a touring “SET” which was exhibited at the Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool, England) and then at the Somerset House (London, The United Kingdom). Virgil Abloh also collaborated with Ben Kelly on a new installation called Ruin, which was displayed at Store Studios (London, The United Kingdom)
In February, Virgil Abloh and Takashi Murakami will collaborate on an Exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery (London, The United Kingdom).
For Spring/Summer, Virgil Abloh will be collaborating with Hans Ulrich Obrist on a presentation at the Serpentine Galleries (London, The United Kingdom).
Later in Autumn, Virgil Abloh will showcase his second furniture collection, titled, Component Collection at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery (Paris, France)
In the year 2019, Virgil Abloh shall be showcasing an artwork focused retrospective, where he will reveal new work alongside unseen works from his past, at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, Illinois).
