In the latest fashion announcement, Louis Vuitton, the namesake fashion brand of European multinational luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, has appointed Virgil Abloh, founder of fashion label Off-White, as its new menswear designer with immediate effect.
The 37-year-old has succeeded Kim Jones, who stepped down after presenting the Fall 2018 collection in January this year to serve Christian Dior as their menswear designer.
The newly appointed designer Abloh has become the first African-American to head up design at Paris-based fashion house Louis Vuitton and will come up with his first show for the brand in June during Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
Markedly, Abloh is a recipient of various accolades, most recently winning the British Fashion Awards Urban Luxe Award and International Designer of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2017.
Abloh, who finds heritage and creative integrity of the fashion house as key inspirations, feels honoured after being appointed as Men’s Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton. “I will look to reference them both while drawing parallels to modern times.” stated Abloh in a statement issued by LVMH.
He posted a Louis Vuitton travel chest to his millions of Instagram followers to confirm the news.
“Abloh became a relevant person to become menswear designer as he possesses innate creativity and disruptive approach,” said Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke, adding, “His sensibility towards luxury and savoir-faire will be instrumental in taking Louis Vuitton’s menswear into the future.”
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and the Rhode Island School of Design are among the major design institutions in the world where Abloh has showcased his work.
