French luxury brand Louis Vuitton recently announced that American designer Virgil Abloh will become the new director of men's clothing and will take over the branch of men's clothing. Over the past seven years, this position has been held by Kim Jones, a British designer. Virgil Abloh is the first African American designer of LV in the history, and is also one of the few black designers who are active in the high-end fashion industry in France.
In 2002, he became a member of the Kanye West’s team DONDA and participated in all the design matters of Kanye entertainment and fashion business. At the beginning of 2009, he launched his own fashion brand PYREX VISION, which enabled Virgil to win support in the fashion industry and enhance his determination to continue to develop in the fashion industry. In 2014, Virgil brought a more complete series than PYREX VISION. “OFF-WHITE c/o Virgil Abloh” was born with the concept of 「Defining the grey area between black and white as Off-White」. With his unique design ideal in the building and outstanding design talent, OFF-WHITE has become a new star in the "Hi-Street" craze.
Off-White has a clear goal from the beginning - the new generation of consumers. When many brands are still sticking to their traditions, a revolution brought about by Virgil is quietly taking place. The boundaries between street fashion and high fashion are blurred. It is precisely because of this innovation and change that Virgil has achieved success in its career and reputation. Virgil is not particularly concerned about the success of OFF-WHITE. He cares about whether he can see more possibilities in it. I think he is not creating OFF-WHITE for the sake of fame. It's only one of the processes that he pursue in different ways of inspiration and expression, and he want to show a possibility and a new pattern and vision in fashion design for young people.
Virgil Abloh has also recently begun lectures at different universities in the United States. Virgil thinks it is a social responsibility to share what he learned to young design or fashion design graduates. One of his word stick in my mind, here I want to share with you--- "Young people always hope to get their own achievements in the history of art and design industry. They often ask me for suggestions or methods, but there are no magical answers in the world. The best advice I can give them is "Just Do it".
（丁海琛）
