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| Virgil After Off-White Fashion |
Virgil Abloh is quickly rising
through the ranks and prestige of the fashion world. After studying in civil
engineering and architecture, Virgil decided to set his sights on his true
passions. In 2002, he became the creative director for Kanye West. During his
collaboration with the rapper he took up an internship with Fendi. His first
small fashion project, Pyrex Vision, accumulated some success and buzz among
some major fashion labels. However, it wasn’t until he focused all his energy
into his Off-White brand that his creativity was celebrated amongst fashion’s
biggest labels.
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| From most recent Off-White Show |
Virgil has been at the forefront of blending
high fashion with more athletic/everyday wear. Recalling our reading on the
four C’s of creativity, Abloh embodies the Vygotskian idea of “internalization
of cultural tools and social interaction” that creates a “transformation
reorganization of incoming information and mental structures.” His pairing of
the more casual clothes he has been akin to his whole life and his expertise
from studying in one of the world’s most renowned fashion houses makes his creative products have a sense of attainable luxury.
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| Serena William in Off-White Nike Collaboration |
His creative vision stems from his teenage years
and the skateboarders he used to idolize, hence the original draw towards designing
tee-shirts in the beginning. His signature crosswalk design is an emblem of the
“couture meets street” vibe that he promotes. The name of his label further
emphasizes this paradox made in Heaven. Virgil explains how “the name Off-White
is between black and white [where] the middle ground is a mixture between both
genres of fashion.” He hopes that this mixing of styles will appeal to an
assorted group. The idea for these styles colliding grew some of its
inspiration from Nicolas Ghesquiere's’ line for Balenciaga in the Fall of 2012.
One of the best qualities of Virgil Abloh is his appreciation of his colleagues
and his willingness to collaborate with them. Mostly recently, he has
collaborated with Nike and Jimmy Choo. And now, this mixing of style is
transcending the wardrobe and entering interior design after a new partnership
with Ikea. In addition to his designing creativity, he has become a
semi-popular DJ in the music scene in 2018. He is always striving to create
more and with different mediums.
More recently, Virgil has been appointed as the
artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear. The chairman and CEO of the major
fashion brand praised Virgil’s “innate creativity and disruptive approach” for
making him popular in both fashion and pop culture. In an interview with New
York Times, Virgil explains his creative process and his path to starting
Off-White. He tells the camera about how his old architecture professor told
him he did not have the mental capacity to do anything important. He then turns
candidly to camera and states blatantly “Every no is perfect for me. I thrive
off of no.” His ability to flourish through failure, his every growing interest
in creating another new product, his childhood memories, his appreciation of
the collaborative process all condense into the creative genius that is
Off-White and Virgil Abloh.
I think it is really interesting that Virgil Abloh studied different disciplines before entering the fashion world. Considering that Abloh draws off of so many other aspects of his life for his work, I wonder if any of the past subjects he studied have had an influence on his designs. Additionally, I think it is really inspiring that Abloh does not let rejection hold him back, but instead he thrives off of that criticism
ReplyDeleteVirgil seems like an excellent example of intrinsic motivation. He really seems to go from project to project based off of what he likes personally rather than sticking to just one thing, which almost certainly helps him to be more creative. I think that attitude is especially evident in your quote from his interview that he thrives off of "no". That seems like something that would be very hard to do for someone who is just in it for the money or for some outside gain.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a whole theme of blending in Vigil's creative process. The way he blends his past experiences, genres of street and couture, and finds ways to collaborate with other creatives is an interesting approach. In order to push boundaries as a creative you also need to have a certain confidence in which you are not afraid of failure and Vigil seems to use this quality for his success!
ReplyDeleteWow I am honestly amazed that he went from an unrelated field into fashion and has shown success. I'm really fascinated by fashion and it is inspiring to hear that it doesn't matter where you come from its how much passion and work you put into that makes you successful. Also I have a great fear of failure, which in a lot of cases has held me back from living my life. To see that if you know what you are passionate about in life, you can thrive off of your failures and make them work for you is inspiring because it makes me want to work more on my art skills. I am constantly working on school related things but learning about Virgil has made me realize that I need to also focus on my passions.
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