Virgil Abloh: Seven Artists He Helped to Create

Virgil Abloh, who was born Virgil Abloh and died on June 23 at the age of 38, grew up in Chicago and moved to New York in his late teens. He would go on to open a number of independently-owned brands, including Off-White, Supra, and Rebellion, which he still oversees to this day. But it was his design career that earned him fame around the world. He was just 29 when his debut collection for the Balenciaga fashion house was shown in 2017.

A slew of celebrities have worn Abloh’s designs on the red carpet — people like Kanye West, Alicia Keys, and Sara Sampaio — though his greatest legacy will likely be his role as a designer of album covers. He has helped redesign the covers of some of hip hop’s biggest albums, helping to add a softer layer to their image. That could be, of course, thanks to the way these artists’ albums were created. In some cases, Abloh’s work allowed the artists to flesh out their looks for the cover, while in others it was more about helping the covers to fit in a bigger, bolder album cover for the main feature of the album.

After Abloh’s death, all his albums have now been redesigned, including Off-White’s 2014 album, American Jesus (pictured above). Here are seven icons that the late Virgil Abloh helped to create, starting with his famous Grammy-winning collaboration with West, “The Life of Pablo.”

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