Virgil Abloh attends the CFDA Fashion Awards on June 4, 2018 in New York City.
Neil Rasmus/BFA/REX/ShutterstockThe tributes are pouring in following the death of fashion designer Virgil Abloh, who passed away Sunday (Nov. 28) at the age of 41.
Musicians like Drake, Justin Timberlake, BTS, Offset, Bruno Mars and many others took to social media to pay their respects to Abloh, who founded the streetwear-focused luxury label Off-White and most recently served as men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton.
A post on Abloh’s verified Instagram account announced his death, explaining that he battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma, for more than two years.
“My plan is to touch the sky 1000 more times for you…love you eternally brother thank you for everything,” Drake captioned photos on Instagram of himself with Abloh.
In addition to his contributions in fashion, Abloh was a DJ and served as Kanye West’s longtime creative director. He also helped design iconic album covers by West, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert and Pop Smoke.
Abloh recently collaborated with Cudi on the Kurt Cobain-inspired floral print dress worn by the rapper during his appearance earlier this year on Saturday Night Live.
“What can you say when a force like @virgilabloh is taken too soon?” Timberlake wrote on Instagram. “You gave the world so much, in so little time. And created with intensity… knowing better than the rest of us that life is short, but anything is possible. I’m honored to have known you. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.”
BTS added on Twitter, “RIP Virgil Abloh, you will be missed. It was an honor to work with you. A true creative genius.”
In another remembrance, Pharrell Williams described Abloh as a “kind, generous, thoughtful creative genius. Your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live forever. Sending love and light to your wife, children, family and day ones. You’re with the Master now, shine.”
Abloh is survived by his wife Shannon, his children Lowe and Grey, his sister Edwina and his parents Nee and Eunice.
See more tributes to Abloh below.
NEWS
Music photographer Jill Furmanovsky said she wasn’t taken aback by the overwhelming excitement surrounding the Oasis reunion tour.
The photographer has been capturing the Wonderwall hitmakers for more than thirty years and shared that the Oasis Live '25 Tour, which brought Noel and Liam Gallagher back on stage together for the first time in 16 years, worked so well because the concerts have always been “about the audience”.
Jill, who first crossed paths with Oasis at one of their early shows at the Cambridge Corn Exchange in 1994, explained to NME: “It didn’t catch us off guard, because Oasis have always been about the crowd. Always. There was never much to shoot on stage.
“Even at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, the performance itself was simple, but the people in the crowd knew every word and were completely swept up in it.
“And that hasn’t really changed over time. They just bring out that songbook and deliver it. Liam is still magnetic and captivating, even when he keeps it minimal. It remains incredibly powerful. That’s the essence of their show.”
Furmanovsky, who has photographed icons like Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin over the course of her fifty-year career, added: “What they’ve done with this new tour, the production, and the visuals… it’s something special.
“The mix of generations in the crowd is also striking. I went with my 13-year-old granddaughter, and there were plenty of kids her age singing along word for word. It’s incredible.
“‘Biblical’ is the term people throw around. It sounds almost silly, but when two brothers who’ve been at odds for years come together again, there really is something biblical about that alone. Combine it with what they’re putting on stage… it’s unlike anything else.”
Jill’s latest book Trying To Find A Way Out Of Nowhere reflects her years documenting Oasis, and she shared that no current act matches what the Supersonic band represents. She was also able to photograph them once again at one of their massive Wembley Stadium shows during the reunion tour.
She said: “There aren’t many artists today who can step into the space Oasis occupies and actually live up to it.
“We’re in a different time now, a kind of in-between phase. It feels like the closing of a rock ‘n’ roll chapter. That doesn’t mean talent or creativity is gone. It’s like with painting — we still have great impressionists, but we’re no longer living in the impressionist era.”
