Kanye West’s Longtime Friend, Off-White Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh Dead At 41
Nov. 28 2021, Published 2:05 p.m. ET
Kanye West's longtime friend Virgil Abloh, a fashion designer, died at 41 after battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer called cardiac angiosarcoma privately for several years.
LVMH, Louis Vuitton, and Off White announced his passing via Twitter.
"We are all shocked after this terrible news," their CEO Bernard Arnault said. "Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother, or their friend."
Pharrell Williams wrote a tribute to Abloh, tweeting, "My heart is broken, Virgil you were 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 made history in the fashion industry after becoming the first black man to take control of Luis Vuitton's menswear collection in early 2018.
He was known for his talent and his close friendship with the Off The Grid rapper and his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian.
Abloh and West had reportedly feuded, which Kanye implanted in some of his songs. However, the two made up during the Paris Louis show in 2018. Fans caught their special moment on camera where they embraced each other and were seen bursting into tears in front of the audience.
Kanye appeared to be bothered after Abloh accepted the gig at LV instead of continuing to work for him exclusively at the time.
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