"The LVMH group, the Maison Louis Vuitton and Off-White have the immense sorrow to announce the disappearance of Virgil Abloh, struck down this Sunday November 28 by a cancer which he fought for several years", declared LVMH on his account Twitter.

Virgil Abloh's illness, which he had been fighting for two years, had not been made public.

"He has chosen to endure his fight in private since his diagnosis in 2019" of cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare malignant tumor located in the heart, explained his family in a post on the designer's Instagram account.

Artist of "infinite curiosity", he has created "ways for more equality in art and design", greeted his family who calls for respect for his privacy to mourn and "celebrate the life of Virgil ".

The first great black designer recognized on the fashion scene, committed to the affirmation of African-American cultures, the stylist had landed in 2018 one of the most envied positions in the sector, within the flagship label of LVMH, number a world of luxury.

Bernard Arnault, the president of the group, said he was "in shock", greeting "a designer of genius, a visionary", but also "a beautiful soul and a man of great wisdom".

Born September 30, 1980 in the United States, in Rockford (Illinois), Virgil Abloh graduated in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison and in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

King of luxury streetwear, he had established himself in a few years as one of the coolest designers with an audience of connected millennials.

Inclusiveness and anti-racism

His January 2021 collection for Louis Vuitton, unveiled as part of Virtual Fashion Week in Paris, had been in the form of an anti-racist and anti-homophobic performance led by American rappers.

Virgil Abloh had questioned how stereotypes and uniforms related to professions and lifestyles shape personality, striving to change these preconceptions.

"Fashion is a tool for shaping these identities (...) Unconsciously, we trust a figure in a suit and we are wary when seeing the outline of a hooded sweatshirt", we could read in the notes accompanying the collection.

Virgil Abloh created his first label in 2012, Pyrex Vision.

A year later was born Off-White, a luxury streetwear brand which imposed itself by the strength of its graphics before evolving towards more "couture" creations.

In 2015, the brand was one of the finalists for the prestigious LVMH prize.

LVMH signed an agreement in July with Virgil Abloh to become the majority shareholder of its Off-White brand.

“For nearly a decade, we have built Off-White as a responsible brand grappling with the concerns of our generation to challenge the status quo. LVMH gives us the power and dimension to accelerate our momentum and make from Off-White a true luxury brand, "commented Virgil Abloh.

LVMH had also planned to extend its collaboration with the American to launch new brands and announced that it wanted to "imagine new partnerships" with him, "beyond fashion".

Abloh had said he wanted to use his partnership with LVMH to "foster greater equity and inclusion in the industries we serve."

© 2021 AFP