This feature appears in VMAN48 now available for purchase.

When we lost Virgil Abloh last year—a true inspiration and a treasured friend to many all over the globe—the pain was overwhelming. But, like the designer, endeavoring to stay positive through pain is the challenge. We look to Abloh’s incredible achievements and the barriers he broke down, and we appreciate how deep his influence still runs in the cultural zeitgeist.

The Chicago native and father of two was originally trained as an architect, but found early success as a streetwear designer for local cool kids. After Abloh met singer Kanye West through mutual acquaintances, the pair headed to Fendi to work as interns (quite the interns!) for the late, great Karl Lagerfeld, bringing a new energy to the storied Roman line. “I paid the $500 a month!” Michael Burke, the chairman and CEO of LVMH group, once said. “I was really impressed. They were disruptive in the best sense of the term.”

After Fendi and a stint as the creative director for West’s label Donda, Abloh founded his own line in 2013, the boundary-pushing Off-White. Producing elevated ready-to-wear for men and women, Off-White was worn both on red carpets in Hollywood and in the streets of New York, cementing Abloh as a purveyor of fashion to many stripes of wearer. A catalyst for much of the modern fascination with artist collaborations, Abloh also became known as the man who outsider brands could tap to make them ultra-relevant and chic. Nike and Evian, Supreme and Ikea, everyone vied for a piece of Abloh’s magic.

His hard work paying off, Abloh was then appointed the head of Louis Vuitton men’s in 2018, becoming the first Black man to helm a division of the international fashion powerhouse. His design ethos and dedication to futurism brought a breath of fresh air to the label, attracting a hungry young audience and amassing hypebeast-level fandom for the luxuries maker, all while promoting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists and models and creatives within the industry.

Often pulling inspiration from his boyhood experiences and his innate understanding of people’s love of nostalgia, Abloh smartly pieced together exciting, gender-bending looks, complete with motifs, graffiti, highly reflective graphics, neons, surprising materials, and many Swarovski applique. His creations were transformative and critically acclaimed, and they made Abloh a globally recognized figure.

Abloh had reached a zenith in popular culture, but he never let the success go to his head; he still found time to set up a $1 million scholarship fund and mentorship program for Black college students. “It’s my commitment to fostering change and keeping the door open,” he told British Vogue of the endeavor. “I’m trying to speak to the 17-year-old version of myself.”And last July, LVMH purchased a major stake in Off-White and offered Abloh a new position within the group, giving him oversight across dozens of fashion, spirits, cosmetics, and jewelry brands. The deal made him, as The New York Times pointed out at the time, “…the most powerful Black executive in the most powerful luxury group in the world.”

It was during that high point when Abloh handpicked the pieces in this portfolio for VMAN; and unbeknownst to most, he was simultaneously battling illness. But the designer’s selections here are, much as the man himself, colorful, upbeat, and unafraid. Shot in one of Abloh’s favorite cities, Miami, his work seems to tell us to stay positive through adversity, and to hope, as he did, for a tomorrow filled with more art and love and light.

This feature appears in VMAN48 now available for purchase.