Louis Vuitton Names Virgil Abloh as Its New Men’s Wear Designer
By VANESSA FRIEDMAN AND ELIZABETH PATONMARCH 26, 2018
Virgil Abloh, the founder of the haute street wear label Off-White
and a longtime creative director for Kanye West, will be the next artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, one of the oldest and most powerful European houses in the luxury business.
“I think of it as kind of the ultimate collaboration.”
It also presumably made a compelling case that Mr. Abloh could be the man to make Louis
Vuitton men’s wear more relevant — and more visible — to the millennial generation.
“I feel elated,” Mr. Abloh said via phone on Sunday, adding
that he planned to relocate his family to Paris to take the job at the largest brand in the stable of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group.
“For the last eight to 10 years we’ve been having this conversation about what’s new, and for me,
that has to do with making luxury relatable across generations,” Mr. Abloh said, adding that he had been putting together an eight-page “brand manual” defining the new ethos of his Vuitton.
And to show a younger generation that there is no one way anyone in this kind
of position has to look is a fantastically modern spirit in which to start.”
The appointment, widely rumored in recent months, is part of a shake-up on the men’s wear side of LVMH,
which began in January with the departure of Kim Jones, Mr. Abloh’s predecessor at Louis Vuitton.