Virgil Abloh and his iconic sneakers: who has the street fashion world lost?

On November 28, the designer, who managed to combine luxury traditions and street culture in his work, passed away. According to official information, Abloh died of cancer, which he had been secretly fighting for the past few years. He was 41 years old.

We tell you who Virgil Abloh was and why all snickerheads around the world are mourning him. Including us.

From engineer to high fashion icon

Virgil was the son of migrants from Ghana who could be classified as middle class. After school, Ablo began studying engineering, but at the end of his studies he became interested in art history. This is where the designer’s creative career began.

In 2009 Virgil was accepted as an intern at the fashion house Fendi. It was there that the designer was noticed by Kanye West and appointed him as creative director of his projects. This collaboration continued for many years.

In 2012, the Pyrex Vision project appeared, the ideological inspiration of which was Abloh. In 2015, the brand was transformed into Off-White. In 2014, it made it to the finals of the most prestigious award for young designers LVMH.

Abloh was sure that he would make the whole world wear streetwear and indeed managed to change not only men but also women into hoodies and sneakers.

Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself.

Virgil Abloh

At this time, one of the designer’s goals was to become a creative director at a fashion house with a history. It seemed absurd, given that he had no design education, and for such a position in the world of haute couture, it was necessary. In 2017, Abloh joined Louis Vuitton for the position he had dreamed of for so long. Time magazine included him in the top 100 most influential people in the world. He managed to work with Levi’s, Byredo, Jimmy Choo, IKEA, Moncler, Warby Parker, SSENSE, Champion, Evian, Converse, Dr. Martens and dozens of other brands.

One of the designer’s trump cards is the sneakers worn by stars and athletes around the world. We’ve collected a few pairs that, in our opinion, have become iconic during the designer’s lifetime.

Off-White x Nike Air Jordan1

The upper of the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 is made of premium materials: quality leather, textile, and rubber. The base of the sneaker itself is white with bright red accents. Naturally, the Off-White signature style is present: the “attached” Swoosh on the side, plastic tag, inscriptions on the side and SHOELACES laces.

Off-White x Nike Air Jordan2 Low

Virgil Abloh and the Jordan brand released an interesting pair of sneakers. The Jordan 2 retromodel was taken as a base. The sneakers received a coloring in the style of the original “twos”.

The upper of the snickers is made of white textured leather, complemented with red details, and, naturally, Jordan branding. Touching on Off-White’s styling are the lettering on the sides, brightly colored labels, and the now trademarked industrial plastic tag.

Off-White x Converse Chuck 70

In 2018, Virgil expanded his work with Converse slightly. The classic Converse Chuck 70 came under the experimentation. In 2021, a re-release of the shoe took place. The model was very popular, which earned the re-release.

These sneakers got the painfully familiar silhouette of the tall white Converse in combination with Off-White elements (additional orange label on the side, large text, striped midsole and orange rubber outsole).

Off-White Floating arrows

Abloh had a penchant for taking the classic silhouette of sneaker models and altering it in a way that retains elements of iconic heritage.

The Floating arrows are a sneaker featuring a rounded toe, SHOELACES laces, a double tongue buckle closure, a side arrow logo and a flat rubber sole.

Louis Vuitton Trainers

Luxe snickers aren’t the kind you can wear every day to work. And they are more in demand among those who understand high fashion. But the Louis Vuitton Trainers RED has a mission of its own – all proceeds from sales are donated to the fight against AIDS.

The bold, layered silhouette successfully combines luxury and street style. But Abloh’s signature touches weren’t left out either.

Nike DUNK x Off-White

The American fashion designer loved Nike for its ability to experiment. It’s no coincidence that this union has so many collaborative products.

The Nike Dunk Low in the University Gold/Midnight Navy/White blue colorway has a unique lacing system with Off-White ties, as well as black lettering on the side and outsole. The plastic tag has found its place as well.

Serene x Nike x Off-White

During the 2018 US Open, Serena Williams caught the world’s attention with an exclusive Queen Collection capsule created especially for her by Virgil. The American designed not only the playing uniform for Serena, but also a leather Off-White exit kit.

The Queen Collection capsule itself looked more like a ballet tutu with a “swoosh”, and most importantly, it was different from everything that other brands had previously done for tennis fashion. Serena’s look was completed with exclusive Nike x Off-White sneakers.